Watford chief executive Scott Duxbury has refuted claims made by Udinese director Pierpaolo Marino that the Premier League would soon be announcing this season has been cancelled.

Both clubs are owned by the Pozzo family, but seemingly have different ideas about how the season should be completed after it was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier in the week Marino told SportItalia: "The Belgian federation has already sanctioned the end of their league, despite the threats of sanctions from Uefa. In England, the Premier League is about to release a similar statement, because the situation there is becoming very serious."

However, Duxbury has since told Sky Sports that clubs in England currently believe otherwise and are still hopeful of completing the interrupted campaign.

The Hornets CEO said: "The discussions Watford and all clubs have had with the Premier League make it clear the overriding ambition is to finish the season but only when it is completely safe to do so.

"The most important concern at this stage is people’s health and safety, and nothing should deflect from that.

"There is a combined objective for all remaining domestic league and cup matches to be played, enabling us to maintain the integrity of each competition.

"However, any return to play will only be with the full support of the Government and when medical guidance allows."