Leeds United: CEO Angus Kinnear says Championship curtailment would be national embarrassment
- Published
Angus Kinnear (centre) arrived at Leeds from West Ham in 2017
It would be “a national embarrassment” if the top two divisions of English football are not completed, says Leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear.
Leeds are top of the Championship by a point as they target a first return to the top flight since 2004.
The Championship and Premier League are targeting a return in June, but a resumption date is yet to be confirmed.
“The time has come to stop repeatedly framing the challenges and start delivering on the solution,” he said., external
Championship squads are set to return to training on Monday under strict protocols following a similar approach from Premier League clubs this week.
Meanwhile, the EFL Board has drawn up a draft framework for how to determine promotion and relegation if any of their three divisions are curtailed.
An unweighted points-per-game method would decide final league placings, ensuring Leeds gain automatic promotion along with West Brom if they are unable to play any more games.
La Liga in Spain and Serie A in Italy are also both in advanced stages of resuming their seasons in a similar manner to how football returned to Germany's top flight at the weekend.
“It would be a national embarrassment if the first and fifth biggest leagues in the world were not able to follow suit if the context remained comparable,” Kinnear added to the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“If Leeds United wanted to be opportunist we could have seized on this ‘points per game’ commitment to push for an early curtailment in concert with some already very vocal self-interests.
“However, our intention has always been to do all we can to complete this season where we started it – on the pitch.
“The medical protocols we have been asked to adopt are rigorous, comprehensive, and founded on science. They have already been embraced by our players.
“The next challenges will be the specifics of returning to competitive play.”