THE Premier League could still end up with NO relegation at the end of the season.
FA chief Greg Clarke is ready to make a U-turn over his promotion and relegation demands if the top flight and Championship cannot finish.
Greg Clarke could make a U-turn on his stance regarding promotion and relegationCredit: PA:Press Association
He angered some Premier League clubs by promising to invoke the FA’s “Special Share” and insist three clubs from each division swap leagues come what may.
But in an about-turn during yesterday’s latest virtual meeting of the 20 Prem “Shareholder” clubs, Clarke signalled he was no longer determined to enforce promotion and relegation IF a second shutdown means the leagues cannot be played to a conclusion.
Clarke’s apparent change of stance came as the Prem clubs agreed to put their “curtailment” concerns on hold for the time being.
The clubs agreed the issue would only come back on the table IF the League, due to resume on June 17, cannot be completed.
And while Clarke would prefer to see the season concluded, the clubs believe he is prepared to row back from confrontation.
One club chief explained: “Greg had made his position clear on this issue last month but it seems the FA have changed their minds on it now.
“We all agreed that if both leagues finish, there should be promotion and relegation.
“Everybody agrees we have to press on now, especially with the good news we’ve had from the Covid-19 testing.
“But if either we can’t, or the EFL can’t, that changes things.”
League chiefs are increasingly bullish that the improving Covid-19 picture means there are few bars to the remaining 92 matches being played before the end of July.
That ambition helped shape the tone of the meeting as clubs came together to shunt the issue onto the backburner.
But it was made clear that a number of clubs would demand there is NO relegation, even if the Prem does finish, if the Championship does not also get played out to a natural conclusion.
Instead, the Prem clubs would suggest the £129m in “parachute money” ring-fenced for relegated clubs be distributed throughout the entire EFL 71-club ecosystem.
The club boss added: “Greg suggested his position in that case would no longer be as cut and dried as it had been.
“He understood the argument about the parachute money.”
The strength of feeling about relegation was echoed by other clubs.
One said: “We’re not just talking about the six who were called “rebels”. It’s much wider than that.
“We believe there are real issues in the Championship and if it can’t finish, then how can any teams be relegated into that division? It would be plain wrong.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
