LONDON, May 25 — Former English Football Association chief executive Mark Palios has warned the cost of the coronavirus to lower-league clubs could be even larger than the forecast £200 million (RM1 billion).
Rick Parry, the chairman of the English Football League (EFL), which governs the three divisions below the Premier League, estimated the cost of lockdown earlier this month.
But Palios, the chairman of third-tier Tranmere, believes the financial damage could be worse.
“Whilst you may look at the ‘hole’ which has been articulated as £200 million to September — I think it’s bigger than that,” Palios told Sky News.
“There is a real financial maelstrom coming towards the league at this point in time.
“I personally believe we haven’t seen the worst of it yet, and during the course of the summer you’ll see a lot more financial stress on the clubs as we move onwards and continue to pay wages.
“I think what you’ll see is a lot of clubs will stumble down the road to insolvency.”
Teams in third-division League One have still to agree on how to end their season, with Palios — whose club sit in the relegation zone — calling for relegation to be scrapped.
“We don’t want to have a decision foisted upon us that is going to affect us financially,” said Palios. “Why would you.. in terms of certain clubs, foist on them an even worse position?”
Palios said the impact of the coronavirus meant EFL rules that hit insolvent clubs with points penalties should be relaxed.
Although points deductions can be appealed on the grounds of ‘Force Majeure’ events, Palios also called for a clarification of rules regarding clubs which entered administration.
“This is a consequence of a pandemic, so I think they need to be considering that clubs may need to go to the protection of administration,” he said.
Meanwhile the chairman of Scottish Premiership side Ross County warned of an economic “tsunami” for clubs north of the border.
The Scottish season was cut short with Celtic declared Premiership champions and officials now hope to start a new campaign in August, subject to health guidance.
But with the Scottish game even more reliant on gate money than English football, the prospect of behind — closed-doors matches could leave many clubs struggling to make ends meet.
“I am very worried for lower-league football, part-time clubs and clubs particularly that rely on gate receipts,” Roy MacGregor told BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound.
“I think the worst is yet to come. I think we will have a tsunami of unemployment and mental issues and big things to deal with. And lack of disposable income. Whether people can afford to see football is my concern.” — AFP
