Palace chief hoping for consensus as English clubs face crunch vote

CRYSTAL Palace chairman Steve Parish is backing Premier League clubs to come to a consensus on how to end the season.

There i s a di v i s i on between the 20 clubs over Project Restart’s plans to f i ni sh the 2019/20 at neutral venues, with Brighton, Aston Villa and Watford all vocal in their opposition to it.

Clubs will meet for a crunch vote today and Parish hopes they can unite in agreement.

“There are no easy answers, we have to work through it as a collective and I think we will and come out with a consensus in the end,” he said.

“The meeting is another part of the journey in trying to get football back.

“We would be derelict in our duty if we did not find a way for the game to come back.

“It may prove beyond us, we have huge challenges in order to get it back to complete the season but we are planning on doing so.”

The Premier League will have a keen eye on how things pan out in Germany, who are due to restart their top t wo l eagues next weekend.

However, that could now be in doubt after Bundesliga 2 side Dynamo Dresden went into a 14-day quarantine after t wo players tested positive for coronavirus and their match has been postponed.

Parish added: “Hopefully we have the German situation going on, if that is successful that could provide a blueprint for us.

“We are hoping it i s successful. Clearly we can see some of the early challenges, t hey may prove insurmountable.

“The concern for us is if they prove insurmountable now, we may be in for a very, very extended period of not being able to play and that has huge ramifications for the game.”

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish.