Doncaster Rovers’ League One rivals band together to try to prevent season being cancelled

League One and League Two clubs will take part in a conference call on Friday, with a vote set to take place on the fate of the 2019/20 season, which has been halted for more than nine weeks due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

It has been widely expected that a move to cancel the remainder of the campaign would be backed, with many of the 47 clubs fearful of the financial implications of attempting to play fixtures behind closed doors. What would follow would be a discussion over how the season would be decided, if at all.

But doubt has been thrown over the outcome of the initial vote after a united public declaration from six League One clubs on Thursday evening.

Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony issued a statement via Twitter, saying a number of clubs are determined to resume matches when safe to do so - as is being pursued by the Premier League and Championship.

MacAnthony wrote: “I have been asked to relay this message on behalf of Oxford United, Fleetwood Town, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Ipswich Town and Peterborough United to the EFL and the media ahead of our League One meeting tomorrow morning.

“We as a collective are united in our goal to finish this season.

“We have no desire for voiding the season, PPG scenario’s/letting a computer decide our footballing fate.

“For our fans/staff & for the integrity of our sport we are all looking forward to completing our pending fixtures/season under guidance from the EFL at a time it is deemed safe to do so.

“Thank you for your time.”

The EFL board are thought to favour promotion and relegation remaining in place, with various methods of a points per game calculation possibly set to be used to determine final standings.

However, there have been calls - including from Rovers boss Darren Moore - for the season to be declared null and void.

*

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor