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The Premier League descended into civil war on Sunday following the emergence of secret plans for a radical restructuring of the top flight hatched by Liverpool and Manchester United.
On an extraordinary day, the Premier League executive also launched a scathing attack on EFL president Rick Parry for supporting Project Big Picture, which would narrow the division to 18 clubs, restrict relegation and give the Big Six unrestricted power to make more changes.
The government condemned those involved for indulging in a “clandestine deal that would create a closed shop at the top of the game.”
The Premier League entered civil war when plans for ‘Project Big Picture’ were revealed
Liverpool, led by John W Henry (left), seek to reduce the league from 20 teams to 18
The overt hostility of the Premier League and many of its clubs to the proposals developed by Liverpool owner John Henry and his United counterpart Joel Glazer, with Parry’s input, is likely to kill them at birth.
A Premier League source accused Parry of attempting to mount a hostile takeover of the world’s richest league by proposing a deal to collectively sell the media rights of the four divisions, and allegedly offering the Big Six a guarantee that they could participate in the Championship. if the other 14 clubs refused to cooperate.
“In the opinion of the Premier League, several of the individual proposals in the plan published today could have a detrimental impact on the entire game,” they said in a statement. “We are disappointed to see that Rick Parry, president of the EFL, has provided his official support.”
Man United and the Glazers (above) are working with Liverpool to push forward the plans
EFL President Rick Parry (above) has given his stamp of approval to the plans.
The government’s response was equally disparaging, although more surprising given that it is an internal dispute between two private sports organizations.
The dispute threatens to further jeopardize the chances of lower league clubs receiving financial assistance to help them deal with the Covid-19 crisis, as the Government has made it clear that they will not help and relations between the Premier League and the EFL are increasingly tense.
A spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Media, Digital Media and Sport said: ‘We are surprised and disappointed that in a time of crisis, when we have urged the upper echelons of professional football to come together and finalize an agreement to help the lower leagues clubs, it looks like secret deals are being prepared that would create a closed shop on top of the game
“Sustainability, integrity and fair competition are absolutely paramount and anything that can undermine them is deeply concerning.
“The fans must be at the forefront of all our minds, and this shows why our review of the governance of football led by fans will be so critical.”
The radical proposals, revealed on the Daily Telegraph website Sunday morning, stemmed from conversations that have been ongoing between Henry and Glazer since 2017.
Parry has been involved in the past six months in exchange for securing a £ 250 million bailout for the EFL and a pledge to abolish parachute payments, which he believes will provide greater financial stability in the lower divisions.
Chelsea and Tottenham are also understood to be on board after their presidents Bruce Buck and Daniel Levy respectively took part in the discussions last week.
Members of the Premier League ‘Big Six’ met Thursday to discuss the proposals
A larger meeting of the Big Six held on Thursday, which also included Manchester City and Arsenal, was dissolved without an agreement being reached.
The rest of the Premier League only learned about the controversial plans yesterday, and their reactions ranged from shock to resentment over their perception that the Big Six have been conspiring behind their back.
In addition to narrowing the division down to 18 clubs, a proposal is proposed to grant special status to the nine with the longest uninterrupted stays in the Premier League, with the votes of just six of those clubs required to introduce major changes instead of the ones. 14 needed today. the largest source of tension.
Sportsmail It has been said that Brighton, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion would not vote for a smaller Premier League under any circumstances, while given their recent relegation history, Aston Villa, Newcastle and West Ham are also extremely skeptical.
Many of the other 14 top-level clubs have said they will reject all plans to downsize the league.
Liverpool and United plan to focus their lobbying efforts on upwardly mobile Premier League clubs that have enjoyed recent success, such as Leicester City, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, but there is no guarantee that they will accept the plan.
The fact that West Ham is opposed to the idea, despite offering ‘long-term shareholder’ status alongside the Big Six, Everton and Southampton, is indicative of the difficulties reformers face.
In the Project Big Picture document sent late to clubs yesterday, a start date of 2022-23 is set for the new structure, which would mean that four clubs were relegated from the Premier League and only two were promoted from the Championship in the previous season. But it is clear that the proposal will have to be modified substantially in order to gain meaningful support.
Promotion and relegation between the EFL (above) and the Premier League will be altered.
The proposal to effectively give the Big Six the veto over future ownership changes, in particular, appears not to be a principle, and it seemed telling that Parry would be left rather than any representative from Liverpool or Manchester United to defend the plans. from yesterday.
“This is the biggest restart since the formation of the Premier League and it will shape the pyramid for the next 20 years,” he said.
“ No one is suggesting that it will be completely straightforward to achieve, but there is as much logic to it for the other 14 Premier League clubs as there is for the Championship as it removes the edge of the cliff.
‘This will bridge the gap and since most of those clubs will be in the Championship at some point, it will benefit them.
“I find it difficult to reconcile our thoughts with the government’s position, but that will not deter us.”
