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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Chris Watson

'Lawyers will get wealthy' - Nottingham Forest, Leeds and West Brom at centre of defiant message

Chairman Rick Parry says the EFL still expects three clubs to be promoted from the Championship to the Premier League this season - or "the lawyers are going to get wealthy".

There have been reports that top-flight clubs want to play out the season with the threat of relegation removed, but Parry said it would get very "messy" if that happened and warned it would be a breach of the tripartite agreement between the Premier League, the EFL and the Football Association.

Nottingham Forest are fifth in the Championship table - in the play-off zone - with nine matches remaining.

Leeds and West Bromwich Albion occupy the two automatic promotion spots, with Fulham third, Brentford fourth and Preston North End sixth.

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Speaking at the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee on Tuesday, Parry said: "We expect three Championship clubs to be promoted - the Premier League are aware of our position on that. The Premier League expects three clubs to be relegated."

Asked what would happen if the Premier League's position changed, Parry said: "The lawyers are going to get wealthy if that happens. There would be a degree of outrage from a number of clubs in our Championship, and it would be a breach of the tripartite agreement.

"The safe answer is that it would get very messy. Our expectation is there would be three clubs promoted from the Championship."

Meanwhile, Parry warned EFL clubs face a £200m financial hole by September in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked in a worst-case scenario how many clubs might go out of business, Parry said: "That's a difficult one to answer.

"We would like to emerge stronger and leaner, with a proper reset post-Covid. We are heading for a financial hole of £200m by the end of September.

"Clubs are stacking up creditors and there are a great deal of uncertainties."

Parry was asked about player wage deferrals and cuts, and the role of the players' union, the PFA.

He said the EFL was on board with the PFA's appointment of financial services firm Deloitte to look at clubs' books to assess if there was genuine need for a club to be deferring wages.

"We all need to share in the pain," Parry said.

"We are really having an open-book policy, and we are going to show (the players) how deep the pain is. We are absolutely on board with the Deloitte process."

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