FA can block any attempt by Premier League to axe relegation when season resumes after coronavirus shutdown
THE FA has the power to BLOCK any Premier League plans to axe relegation from the top flight.
Some clubs have warned that they will only back Project Restart proposals if the threat of dropping into the Championship is taken off the table.
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EFL chairman Rick Parry threatened legal action if second-tier clubs are prevented from being promoted to the top-flight under the agreement between the two Leagues and the FA.
But SunSport can reveal FA chairman Greg Clarke and the Wembley board have the right to demand promotion and relegation takes place — even if ALL 20 Prem clubs vote against it.
The ability of the FA to interfere goes back to the original Premier League breakaway from the Football League.
The resulting Founder Members Agreement, signed on July 17, 1991, gave the “Special Shareholder” — the FA — specific powers.
Under the terms of the document, which remains in place today, rule variations can “be effective only with the consent in writing of the Special Shareholder and without such consent shall not be done or caused to be done”.
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According to Paragraph 7.2.4 (b) of the document, one of those provisions is “any amendment to, removal of or waiver of . . . the number of members and promotion to and relegation from the League”.
The FA have never previously used the power and agreed with the reduction of League members from 22 to 20 in the 1995-96 season.
But it means Prem bosses would need official FA consent for any non-relegation plans.