Brighton owner wants relegation scrapped if season not finished

Brighton owner Tony Bloom believes that relegation should be scrapped if the Premier League season cannot be completed, claiming it would be “unfathomable” that a club could be doomed by “0.2 points”.

The Premier League, in common with leagues throughout Europe and beyond, has been suspended for over a month due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Most teams in the top flight still have nine games to play while June 30 has been mentioned as a potential cut-off date for the season to end.

“I don’t foresee a situation, if the season’s not played out, that teams will get relegated on a points-per-game basis,” Bloom said.

“I just don’t think it’s fathomable that a team which is not allowed to play out the season may lose out on 0.2 points based on this system, and also it does not take into account the strength of the team you have not played.”

If the season ended early, Brighton would stay up as they sit two points above the drop zone.

Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich were in the relegation places when the league was suspended.

“You may get a title winner, obviously Liverpool deserve it, you may use that criteria for European qualification but I do not see how anyone can vote for that, certainly the per cent needed (70 per cent), for teams to get relegated. I really cannot foresee that,” added Bloom.