5 Mar 2010Top-flight clubs reject European playoff proposal

Football Clubs News | Football Leagues/ Association and Governance

Plans to introduce a playoff to determine the recipient of England's fourth UEFA Champions League place have been rejected at a meeting of the 20 top-flight clubs.

A detailed proposal for the playoff system was presented at the English Premier League board meeting in London on Thursday (March 4th), having first been suggested earlier this year.

According to the Guardian, the motion was defeated with 11 clubs voting in favour and nine against.

Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the English Premier League, told BBC Radio Five Live: "There was not enough support to take the idea forward, so we won't be discussing that proposal any further."

It is believed that clubs such as Birmingham City and Fulham were opposed to the proposal, which also predictably met resistance from Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool.

The new system would have seen the teams finishing fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh after the regular season entering a playoff competition for the final UEGA Champions League spot.

Written by Terry Mitchell

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