Premier League sides have been warned not to use the phrase ‘null and void’ when talking about contingency plans for the rest of the campaign as fears grow the season will be cancelled.
According to Sportsmail, instructions from Premier League HQ have gone out telling teams to use the word ‘curtailed’ instead when discussing the worst-case scenario of a cancelled campaign.
This is because it will provide legal protection against broadcasters seeking a rebate on the League’s £3billion annual television deal.
With a quarter of the campaign to play, Sky Sports, BT Sport and overseas broadcasters will ask for a partial refund if it is not finished, although compensation clauses in the contracts are not pro rata, so they are not entitled to a particular percentage of their outlay.
Moreover, in the event of an abandoned campaign the Premier League would argue that the matter was taken out of their hands by force and that they did not void the season, hence their instruction to teams.
The official position remains that they are committed to completing all the games, which they are expected to reaffirm in a conference call of all 20 sides on Friday.
Yet dissenting voices are questioning privately whether this is possible. In an indication of the desperation to finish the season, top-flight sides have not received any directions about a delay beyond April 30, unlike those in the EFL.
As Sportsmail revealed on Friday, EFL clubs received a memo this week informing them that another suspension was coming. A new possible resumption date is set to be announced next week.
There have been no formal talks about what to do if the Premier League season is not completed, but in talks between club executives there is an acceptance that it would be impossible to promote and relegate teams.
