Premier League clubs warn of chaos if season not done by July 1

At least half the clubs in the English Premier League will push for the season to finish on July 1, even if all matches have not been played.

Chelsea midfielder Willian is one the Premier League players who could leave the club before the season has been completed. Picture: AFP

At least half the clubs in the English Premier League will push for the season to finish on July 1, even if it does not leave enough time to play all the remaining games, in what could be a pivotal meeting on Friday.

While there had been a collective desire to complete the season, however long it took, club executives now fear that the matter of expiring player and staff contracts is becoming impossible to resolve.

“We are in danger of entering chaos territory,” a Premier League club insider told The Times.

FIFA has introduced measures enabling clubs to extend contracts for players whose deals are due to expire on June 30. But legal experts have said this is impossible to enforce under English employment law without the player’s consent, enabling them to leave if they have a move to another club lined up.

For many clubs, current negotiations with players over wage deferrals are proving difficult enough, but the contract situation is causing greater angst. It has led, The Times understands, to at least half the clubs entering private discussions about a proposal to draw a line under this season on July 1, however late in the calendar matches resume.

With the British government expected to extend the lockdown until at least May 7, it is unlikely that clubs would return to action much before the start of June, even if matches are played behind closed doors.

Nevertheless, there is confidence among some executives that the 14-club majority required to push through such a proposal under Premier League rules would be achieved if it went to a vote that would be held at a later date.

There are 92 remaining Premier League fixtures. While clubs recognise an incomplete season could undermine the integrity of the 2019-20 season, they regard the potential movement of players before all the matches have been played as even more damaging.

However, clubs have not had any discussions about how a final table – which would govern European places, relegation and payments for finishing in each position – would be agreed, a matter that is likely to prove controversial. There is also a feeling that if the season cannot start before mid-June, there is no point in starting and then stopping a couple of weeks later.

As The Times reported last week, players including Chelsea duo Pedro and Willian, Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser and Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham Hotspur, would be able to defy the FIFA directives and leave their clubs before the season has been completed. FIFA said contracts could be “extended until such time that the season does actually end”, with the player’s present club taking precedence over a new employer and a recognition that the contracts are timed for the traditional end of one season and the start of another.

FIFA recognises that employment law in each country could be a factor and sports lawyers have outlined the difficulties of enforcing the measures. Nick de Marco, QC, who has been appointed by the Professional Footballers’ Association to advise on contractual matters, told Sky Sports that “legally, they cannot be forced to continue to play for the club”.

Premier League clubs are continuing to thrash out wage deferral agreements with their players to mitigate the financial impact of the pandemic.

Members of Arsenal’s executive committee have volunteered to waive a third of their salaries over the next year in a move that will increase pressure on their players to take deferrals. The decision of all 14 executives, including the head of football, Raul Sanllehi, and the managing director, Vinai Venkatesham, to forgo a percentage of their salary was announced with confirmation that no staff will be furloughed.

On Monday the Arsenal first-team squad rejected a proposal for players to take a 12.5 per cent reduction in salaries over the next 12 months. Arsenal’s players will only accept an offer to defer wages, with total player salaries standing at £16m ($32m), but the club says discussions have been “productive” so far. Southampton and West Ham United are the only Premier League clubs to have agreed deferrals.

The Times understands that one club towards the bottom of the table has proposed a deferral deal in which players would only be reimbursed fully should they stay in the Premier League.

Newcastle United and Norwich City are the only Premier League clubs using the government’s payment scheme for furloughed staff, after U-turns by Liverpool, Spurs and Bournemouth. Arsenal say they will not be using the scheme.

Meanwhile, Newport County, of League Two, on Wednesday furloughed their players, management team and most staff.

The Scottish Professional Football League’s proposal to end the lower league season in Scotland was finally given the go-ahead on Wednesday after Dundee voted in favour of the plan. Their original ‘no’ vote was not received in time to count last Friday but on Wednesday they said yes to the plan which means the Championship, League One and League Two end immediately. The Premiership could follow suit, which could mean Celtic being handed their ninth successive title.

THE TIMES