Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Business

Season will lack 'sporting integrity' if completed, Barnsley tell EFL

Championship side Barnsley have written to the English Football League (EFL) saying that its plans to restart the campaign halted by the COVID-19 crisis will see the season completed with a "lack of sporting integrity".

England's second tier said it planned to resume on June 20, some three months after it was suspended, with the date subject to safety requirements and government guidance.

"If the 2019-20 season is completed, it will be completed with a lack of sporting integrity," Barnsley, who are bottom of the 24-team league, said in the letter obtained by Sky Sports.

"Some clubs will have unbalanced squads compared to competitors due to ending player contracts.

"Some clubs will lose home-field advantage for matches behind closed doors in respect to the reverse fixture earlier this season. This is especially true with big rivalries and the loss of the respective revenue.

"Those clubs unfairly and unlawfully relegated to a lower division would face further uncertainty and potential failure of their enterprise."

Barnsley said clubs who drop down a division should be given a "one-time parachute payment" to offset the loss of television revenue.

Queens Park Rangers chief executive Lee Hoos has also slammed the EFL's plans to resume the season.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.