‘We understand’ – Jim White delivers EFL update, pundit suggests promoting Leeds would go legal
talkSPORT broadcaster Jim White has said that he has received information from an EFL meeting that raises questions about whether the leagues will get finished on the pitch.
White also said that Friday’s Premier League meeting – dubbed Project Restart – left big questions to answer after re-asserting the top-flight’s commitment to finishing the season.
Talking on the Jim White Show (talkSPORT, Friday), White said, “Project Restart… If this is given the green light by the Premier League and the government, should players be able to opt-out if they’re not comfortable?”
White also said that there were two big points to address from an EFL meeting this week.
“We received this information from the EFL meeting. One, there is no way for clubs to legally enforce contracts for those expiring at the end of June, until the season finishes.
“What we understand, players will get normal severance, which would be for July. The question is, if it goes past July, would they be willing to play on?
“Two, we understand there are discussions within the EFL that the season will be finished on sporting merit.”
talkSPORT pundit Bob Mills said that the EFL needed to step up and provide leadership, and suggested that voiding the season could be the only way forward to avoid legal action.
“Say if Leeds and West Brom went up, that would lead to court cases from other clubs. It’s a nightmare. The EFL needs to show leadership and it might be that they have to wipe the season and start again with everyone in the same division.”
Voiding the season would be absolutely the worst-case scenario for Leeds United.
Thankfully, it seems to be the solution that has the least amount of support, with both UEFA and the EFL wanting leagues to finish on sporting merit if fixtures can’t be completed.
However, another piece of information from talkSPORT threw even more cold water on the Championship ending on the pitch.
In a news report at 10.30am it was said, “Bosses at the EFL think that the chances of any games happening in June is increasingly unlikely.”
If the season doesn’t re-start in June then it’s going to be very tough to get it finished by UEFA’s deadline of the end of July. That’s without getting into the issue of player contracts.
That leaves August for the European competitions before the 20/21 season starts. There’s a hard stop on that with the Euro 2020 finals set to play out in the summer of 2021.
The longer this goes on, the more it seems that some way of finishing the season early seems like the most likely solution.
In other Leeds United news – Reliable journalist: EFL likely to end leagues ‘soon’; plan to promote Leeds & West Brom dead