West Ham has begun refunding Season Ticket Holders today.

The club announced their refund policy in an Email and statement on 20th May clearly which offered supporters an option of a credit or refund with more information to follow. A season ticket renewal price freeze was also offered if the Hammers remain in the Premier League no matter which option supporters opt for.

As part of this process, the club ticketing partners have started crediting individual club cash balances in advance of further email communication tomorrow (Tuesday).

West Ham Supporter Services posted a message on Twitter on @WestHamHelp  this evening to clarify the situation by saying:

Danish supporters used Zoom to be part of the action for a Superliga match in Denmark.

Thousands of Danish soccer fans logged into the conferencing software last Thursday evening and were transported into the Ceres Park stadium for a league game between AGF Aarhus and Randers that heralded the resumption of the country’s football season.

Families wearing club shirts and scarves cheered inside their living rooms. Some were seen clenching their fists in joy after Simon Piesinger scored with a chip from 40 metres out to put visiting Randers ahead in the 36th minute. The match finished in a 1-1 draw.

Crowd noise was piped in for the match and there were cardboard “spectators” in place in the stands. Like elsewhere games are being played behind closed doors in Denmark.

Last week West Ham supporter Nigel Kahn suggested a similar concept for the London Stadium with the idea and story travelling around the world including Australia, Portugal, Indonesia and the US. It appears the Premier League didn’t take up Nigel’s Zoom.

West Ham’s squad are entering a critical period of the period before the season resumes with daily or bi monthly coronovirus testing now proving critical.

Rush Green has been turned into a near hospital with every precaution in place to ensure the players remain entirely free of the virus.

But we are now into a position where should any of them test positive this week they will miss the first game of the resumption against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the London Stadium.

Club chairmen will meet on Thursday to discuss various issues connected with the restart – not least among them to vote on a relegation model should the season not get finished for any reason.

But in the meantime the Hammers medical staff will be key figures as the players move haven and earth to remain free of the virus which thus far – according to our insiders – has let them all unaffected.

According to The Telegraph any player who tests positive later this week faces missing the Premier League’s big restart.

Telegraph Sport claims there is a ‘return to play’ protocol as part of the medical guidance for dealing with all footballers who have contracted Covid-19 and, even for those who were asymptomatic, the minimum period before returning to group training is two weeks.

This includes the seven-day self-isolation period, with players then only able to return to graded activity on day eight – subject to a negative test – before group training after 14 days. For symptomatic cases, players must be symptom free for at least 14 days before they can return to team training.

The Irons are reported this morning as have inquired about  the availability of AC Milan midfielder Marco Brescianini.

However, even if true the player is very much one for the future having not appeared in the AC first team yet but has scored six goals and provided two assists in the Primavera 2a, which is equivalent to the Premier League 2.

It seems unlikely that with more pressing matters on hand – such as avoiding relegation and bringing in at least a couple of players to strengthen the first team squad immediately – this one is very high on the list of priorities now.

And in any event the Hammers are strong in the midfield area and it’s unlikely they will be looking in that area at any level right now. March.

Although David Moyes has made it clear he wants a young and energetic squad but seems to be thinking purely in terms of players of immediate Premier League ability.

Former Hammer Dimitri Payet says he wasn’t pushed hard enough at West Ham,

An interview with Reunion based newspaper, Payet said that he is under more pressure at Marseille, and he enjoys it better.

He said that he was not pushed hard enough at West Ham, and this contributed to his decision to quit the Hammers in 2017 under Slaven Bilic.

He said: “It’s something that I wear constantly [pressure]. This is also why I returned to Marseille. 

“West Ham is a popular but modest Premier League club. When I was not good, nobody fell on me. Here, this is not the case. 

“You can’t fall asleep on your laurels. Even when I’m good and the team wins, you can always fault my performance.”

Payet has hit the headlines in recent days as he refused to take a 20% pay cut from Marseille.

Payet has claimed that taking into account the needs of his family was behind his decision not to take a pay cut

The Marseille star earns £100,000-a-week in a deal lasting to 2022.

Marseille have had financial issues to contend with during the current health crisis, having reduced the staff pay by 30 per cent during this period

But Payet has stood by his decision to collect a full salary, with the French league having already been declared finished back in April.

‘Everyone has had their say on this matter,’ he told Le Journal de l’ile de La Reunion.

‘My position was clear and obvious. The player that I am is also the father of a family. Like everyone, I have significant financial outlays to maintain, and engagements to keep.

‘My role is to defend my interests and those of my family, without putting the club in danger, with everyone knowing how attached I am to it [Marseille].’

Spanish La Liga matches could have the look of a FIFA video game when the competition resumes next month.

The Spanish league is contemplating adding virtual crowds to the television broadcast of matches that will be played in empty stadia.  Spanish league president Javier Tebas said on Friday that the league is working with the possibility of giving fans an option to watch the original feed from the empty stadia or an alternative one with crowds superimposed on the stands, similar to those in video games.

“We are testing to see if we can allow the spectator to choose between two images — the real one or another with virtual fans and sounds,” Tebas said in an online video conference organized by Spanish sports newspaper Marca. “We want to give fans options. The tests I’ve seen so far are impressive.”

Tebas said fans may also have the option of hearing pre-recorded crowd noise or stick with the live sound from the empty stadiums.

Tebas said the Bundesliga, which resumed recently in Germany, was successful using virtual sound during its matches, and the Spanish league wants to go a step further by using the virtual fans.