Irish Premiership: Season curtailed and mathematical formula to decide final standings

Linfield were top and Coleraine were second when the Irish Premiership was suspended in March

The Irish Premiership season has been curtailed and a mathematical model will be applied to determine the final standings.

The formula is to be decided by an independent football data consultancy "in accordance with Uefa principles".

A title will be awarded to the winners, with one team relegated to the Championship and one team promoted.

Leaders Linfield are four points clear of Coleraine in the top-flight table, with Institute sitting bottom.

Portadown lead the Championship, which has also been curtailed along with the Premier Intermediate League.

The same mathematical formula will be applied in these divisions to determined final league positions, with one team dropping down from the second-tier Championship and one team coming up from the PIL.

The 2020 NIFL Women's Premiership and Women's Academy League seasons will be played later this year in a reduced format.

The news was announced on Tuesday morning by the Northern Ireland Football League after the league organisers held a board meeting on Monday evening.

It brings to an end weeks of meetings between the clubs, NIFL and the Irish FA, including a number of proposals and counter-proposals, with Premiership clubs trying to agree the possible distribution of around £1m of European money provided by Uefa.

It is believed last-ditch talks to find a solution broke down on Monday morning and it remains unclear what will happen to the European money.

NIFL will also be creating a hardship fund to assist with clubs struggling financially.

The Premiership winners qualify for the Champions League with the runners-up going into the Europa League, and the Irish Cup winners awarded the second Europa League spot.

However, if Coleraine, currently six points clear in second place in the table, win the Irish Cup, then that second Europa League position will go to the team that finishes third in the Premiership after the mathematical model is applied.

The Irish Cup is still expected to resume at the end of July. It is believed that all four semi-finalists - Ballymena United, Cliftonville, Coleraine and Glentoran - have agreed to play provided it is safe to do so.

The Irish FA, which runs the cup competition, has agreed to provide Covid-19 testing for the clubs.

"The NIFL board sought to consider the submissions provided by all clubs across each of the divisions and express their thanks for feedback and patience of all clubs during this challenging process," NIFL said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Throughout the process a range of options to either resume or curtail season 2019/20 were appraised against the key principles of health, finance and sporting integrity and while each option impacted the key principles in their own specific way, the board has endeavoured to make decisions in the best interest of the NI Football League."

Sean Connor's Institute are bottom of the Irish Premiership table, three points behind Warrenpoint Town

Tuesday's decision will not come as a shock to many, after weeks of talks between the Irish Football Association, NIFL and the clubs appeared to present as many questions as answers.

The clubs were initially presented with two options, either conclude the league with the mathematical formula or play two more rounds of fixtures, however they refused to vote on the proposals.

With the two-game proposal deemed a non-starter by a number of clubs, it appeared that the only options were to curtail the season or, improbably, play the remaining seven rounds of fixtures.

Last week Crusaders tabled a suggestion that would see the league ended now with the current positions being declared as the final standings, and the European money being split among all clubs on a sliding scale, however further discussion over the weekend did not conclude with a unanimous agreement.