Tue May 05, 2020 12:52 pm
Jamie Carragher has slammed the Premier League's bottom six clubs for changing their stance on Project Restart as the row continues over the resumption of the season.
Tuesday 5th May 2020
The division's 20 clubs are currently locked in talks over the fastest and safest way to resume top-flight football and finish the current season.
The aim of Project Restart is for the Premier League to resume on June 12 with games played behind closed doors at neutral venues, with a long list of health and safety measures put place to safeguard player welfare.
Jamie Carragher has accused Premier League strugglers of hypocrisy over Project Restart
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Jamie Carragher has accused Premier League strugglers of hypocrisy over Project Restart
Carragher says relegation-threatened sides have lost credibility for shifting stance on restart
Carragher says relegation-threatened sides have lost credibility for shifting stance on restart
Brighton CEO, Paul Barber, says restarting season at neutral venues will threaten PL's integrity
But, while most of the division's clubs are in favour of season being finished, the bottom six clubs have expressed concerns over the restart.
Brighton CEO Paul Barber has publicly opposed the plans, suggesting that the competition's integrity would be damaged if games were played at neutral venues.
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady previously stated that the season should be cancelled before backtracking on those comments and claiming that she was in favour of finishing the campaign.
Carragher, who was speaking on Sky Sports' Football Show, says the division's bottom clubs are guilty of hypocrisy after it was also claimed they'd floated the idea of relegation being cancelled if they agreed to 'Project Restart'.
But other struggling clubs are reportedly now open to restart if relegation is cancelled
But other struggling clubs are reportedly now open to restart if relegation is cancelled
Carragher has suggested self-interest is at the heart of struggling sides opposing restart
He said: 'The bottom six clubs were being vocal about why the league shouldn’t go on, legitimate reasons, everyone was concerned about player and fan safety, taking things away from the NHS.
'But what got to me is that clubs were opposed to neutral venues, (then) as soon as relegation was taken off the table it was suddenly fine to play at neutral grounds. They lost a lot of their argument then.
'The teams at the top find it hard to speak about wanting the season to go on as it looks insensitive. As soon as relegation was taken off the table, they were fine with it.'
The Premier League require 14 clubs to vote in favour of the restart in order for it to be given the green light but an agreement appears some distance away.
Brighton's Barber, has claimed the idea of playing at 10 neutral venues threatens the integrity of the competition, but Crystal Palace owner Steve Parish has spoken in support of the financial benefits of restarting the campaign.
Crystal Palace owner, Steve Parish, has endorsed the financial benefits of completing season
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Crystal Palace owner, Steve Parish, has endorsed the financial benefits of completing season
A source informed Sportsmail on Sunday that just 13 clubs are currently in favour of Project Restart, with six opposed and one undecided.
Other sources are claiming there are at least eight rebel clubs, which would be enough to veto the plan.
The division's leading sides have also privately suggested that relegation-threatened sides are deliberately blocking the agreement to ensure the season is voided and they avoid the drop.
One executive said: ‘They are threatening to destroy football just to avoid the risk of relegation,’ is how one executive put it. ‘Their thinking is so short-sighted.’
The vote on Project Restart is set to take place next Monday and not this Friday as originally planned. The meeting has been moved to come after Prime Minister Boris Johnson's briefing on Sunday night.
Instead, the Premier League’s plan is to continue to pursue a step-by-step approach based on increasing the intensity of training from individual, through small groups to full contact, in the hope that the spread of Covid-19 has slowed significantly by the time a decision is required at the end of the month.
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