Sunderland unikely to take legal route if League One is curtailed

Sunderland are unlikely to pursue legal action if the League One season is curtailed, but Jim Rodwell believes it is certain to be an option for other clubs.

The Black Cats remain determined to play the season to a conclusion when safe to do so, and CEO Rodwell has been a vocal voice in the debate dividing the third tier.

Sunderland’s hopes were dealt a blow yesterday when the EFL outlined a framework that clears the way for a vote to curtail the League One campaign.

While the EFL insist that they want games to be played, the approval of their framework would allow a majority of 51% of clubs to prevent a resumption.

Crucially, the EFL also said that it would not support the extension of the play-offs. This looked likely to be Sunderland’s only hope of promotion if the fixture list was not to be fulfilled.

No points-per-game formula would have served Sunderland’s promotion ambitions, but the application of an unweighted system (where home and away performances are not taken into account) will be hugely contentious.

It will mean Peterborough

United miss out on a top six spot, while Tranmere Rovers will be relegated despite having a game in hand on their rivals and having won their last three games before the postponement.

Rodwell says the situation could become ‘incredibly messy’.

“I don’t think that’s a question for Sunderland, to be honest, because our situation is different,” Rodwell said.

“But if people feel they have been treated terribly unfairly, and if we decide to finish the league now, somebody is going to fall into that position – at the top I think it is likely to be Peterborough, Portsmouth or Wycombe, realistically, and they will have just the same issue at the bottom.

“I suspect that any one of those clubs could always resort to the law and it could get incredibly messy.

“But that’s not Sunderland’s position at the moment, no.”

Sunderland were open to an extended play-off, but Rodwell nevertheless insisted that the only way to prevent ‘anarchy’ was to play all fixtures when safe. Gillingham boss Steve Evans has already urged all clubs to vote for a return to action.