FOOTBALL’S governing bodies got it right.

Health should always come first and as coronavirus continues to wreak havoc up and down the UK, extending football’s postponement was the correct decision.

When you survey the situation now, it seems absurd that last Friday morning Saints’ trip to Norwich was still due to go ahead.

This just goes to show how quickly and dramatically the situation surrounding Covid-19 has changed.

The Premier League made a blunder last week when it took Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta contracting the virus before they decided to call off football for the foreseeable future.

They initially set a suspension date of April 3 but that has now been pushed back until April 30 with another shareholders’ meeting set in stone for next month.

But that wasn’t the only important news to come out of Thursday’s conference call, there was also the revelation that the 2019/20 season will be completed, as the FA allowed their rules to be relaxed regarding completion dates.

In the grand scheme of things, given Saints’ league position, this may not seem that important, but they still have the opportunity to climb the table and earn extra prize money which could be used to bolster this summer’s transfer budget.

It’s also crucial the 2019/20 is brought to its natural conclusion because whilst Liverpool will win the title, there is plenty more up for grabs.

There are just eight points between the bottom-six teams, with goal difference separating three of them.

Take Aston Villa as an example: if it was decided to end the season right now and clubs kept their league position, would that be fair?

The Villa Park side have played a game less than Bournemouth, Watford and West Ham and if they won that then they leapfrog all of them.

And you could apply the same argument for Sheffield United at the other end of the table who could sneak their way into the Champions League.

Scenarios like these would plague the Premier League for months and would probably include legal battles – especially for the teams battling relegation.

Although another six weeks without football will be strange, the health of the fans, players, staff and everyone else has to come first.