PREM chiefs want the head of Rick Parry — as it emerged Spurs and Liverpool would get a £150million stadium rebate under Project Big Picture.
Parry’s future as EFL chairman is under serious threat after football’s civil war intensified.
Liverpool could claim for a £30m rebate for their stadium redevelopment in Project Big Picture plansCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Top-flight clubs and League bosses want Parry OUT after he was the frontman for Liverpool and Manchester United’s widely panned scheme.
The news two of the Big Six wealthiest clubs — both criticised for plans to furlough staff in lockdown — will be huge winners from the proposals added to the turmoil.
Another day of drama saw all-out war, with:
- Prem leaders calling off any more EFL bailout talks in protest.
- Seething club bosses wanting Parry to step down by Thursday’s EFL board meeting, with even some Championship sides admitting the plan is dead.
- Prem chiefs accusing Parry of seeking to use backing from Liverpool and United to return to the Prem as CEO.
It all came as footnotes revealed Tottenham could claim £125m and Liverpool £30m in rebates from Prem funds for stadium building costs.
Parry’s Big Six offer of a home in the Championship and guaranteed places in European competition if they were to breakaway from the Premier League was described as “lunacy”.
FA chiefs also promised Prem bosses they would use their “Golden Share” option to block any structural changes.
A spokesman for PM Boris Johnson said: “It is this type of back-room dealing that undermines trust in football’s governance.”
While Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden threatened a Government intervention, warning: “Unless the Premier League and the EFL get together urgently we will have to look at the governance of football.
“The challenge is ensuring the EFL has the resources for its clubs to survive, not trying to change the structure of English football.”
Parry, aware of a backlash, criticised “hypocrisy” over clubs seizing control.
He told talkSPORT: “I don’t underestimate the challenges. But that doesn’t mean we sit back.
“We need big ideas and big thinking. This is a way of bringing it into the open. People call it a power grab but I don’t see it that way — I look at the benefits.”
Parry sent the Prem into meltdown acting as a mouthpiece for United and Liverpool — who both declined to comment.
Spurs’ new stadium could see them claim £125m in rebatesCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Prem boss Richard Masters is understood to have no intention of more EFL bailout talks.
News that more established Prem sides could get up to £250m for new stadium projects, while the likes of Fulham and Wolves would not get a PENNY, caused more fury.
Parry is accused of eyeing up a role as Masters’ successor although he said: “I’m looking at it entirely from the EFL perspective, 100 per cent.”
SunSport revealed Parry had told the Big Six his plan had enough support in the FA’s Council but Wembley chief Greg Clarke has made it clear he will veto any proposal.
Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony said: “Every club in the EFL would sign up — but it’s not going to happen.
“This is a massive distraction because we need the money yesterday.”
Parry was plunged further into crisis as EFL chief exec David Baldwin quit after just THREE MONTHS in the job.
He will leave his role in March but insisted it is “not linked” to the Project Big Picture chaos.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden says he fears Premier League reform plans are a ‘power grab’
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
