Staggering claim from an EFL official as pressure grows on the 2019-20 season to be completed

A leading EFL official has claimed home and away matches against every opponent in the same division is not the accepted finite structure of the season, according to Tranmere Rovers chairman Mark Palios.
Tranmere Rovers chairman Mark Palios.Tranmere Rovers chairman Mark Palios.
Tranmere Rovers chairman Mark Palios.

Palios revealed the astonishing conversation with an unnamed executive in the Daily Mail today (May 28) after protesting about a proposal to relegate his club from League One on points per game if the 2019-20 campaign remains incomplete.

The comments suggest the EFL are increasingly worried about a backlash from clubs — and about the attitude of the Premier League — if they fail to finish this season due to the coronavirus crisis.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Palios said: “They’re trying to make their rules fit the argument, not the other way around. A senior EFL executive seriously tried to redefine the end of the season to us.

“He said it doesn’t actually say you have to play every team twice, so the season ends when you’ve played all the games you can play. That was his justification.

“Good luck with that when there is about 150 years of precedent.

“Before the start of every season, the leagues announce a fixture list.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“What is the fixture list if not confirmation that you are meant to play everybody twice? Why does everybody’s season ticket include 23 home games in the league?

“We’ve got sponsors, commercial agreements, media agreements — why would these people be demanding rebates for missed games if there was no definite expectation of what a season means and the number of matches it includes?

“Everything is shaped around playing everybody twice and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous. It is all getting so muddle-headed.”

Palios has suggested an alternative to a points-per-game average should the season end early, one that would see Posh finish fifth. He is also advocating there should be no relegation from League One.