EPL faces court battle
PROMOTION HOPEFULS: West Brom and Leeds PROMOTION HOPEFULS: West Brom and Leeds
The Premier League will find itself in a “very messy” legal situation if they don’t promote three Championship clubs this season.
And EFL chairman Rick Parry hopes it doesn’t come to that.
Speaking to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the UK on Tuesday, Parry confirmed that discussions with top-flight officials have led him to believe that promotion and relegation will go ahead as normal, with three sides dropping out of the top tier and three going up.
But the former Liverpool chief admits that “the lawyers are going to get wealthy” if the Premier League go back on their word and don’t welcome the Championship’s top two clubs, plus the playoff winners, next season.
WARNING: EFL boss Rick Parry
It had been reported that Premier League clubs stuck near the bottom of the table had called for relegation to be scrapped this term in order to maintain the integrity of the division.
But in a boost for the likes of promotion hopefuls Leeds in first place and West Brom in second, Parry insists that six clubs will switch places - unless the Premier League change their minds.
PROMOTION HOPEFULS: West Brom and Leeds
He says: “We expect three clubs to be promoted. In all the conversations we have had with the Premier League, we expect three clubs to be relegated.
“The lawyers are going to get wealthy if they change their minds. There would be outrage in the Championship. It would be a breach of the agreement between ourselves and the FA.
“I would expect the FA would have an opinion. The safe answer is it would get very messy.”