FA Chairman Accused of Pushing to Create 'Premier League 2'
By Tom Gott
Football Association chairman Greg Clarke has been accused of secretly discussing the potential formation of a 'Premier League 2' during secret talks with leading sides.
The claim comes from chairman of the Football League Rick Parry, who is facing intense pressure after publicly supporting Project Big Picture, a controversial proposal designed to hand power of the Premier League to the division's biggest clubs.
Exclusive: FA chief Greg Clarke 'proposed Premier League 2 and B teams' in explosive leaked document. with @SamWallaceTel and @ben_rumsby https://t.co/qCe9b30ys3
— Tom Morgan (@Tom_Morgs) October 15, 2020
The Telegraph claim to have seen an email from Parry in which he seeks to dismiss claims he was a ringleader of Project Big Picture, sharing copies of a document allegedly drawn up by Clarke in February ahead of a secret meeting with Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea.
Clarke is accused of being the man who instigated the idea of restructuring English football, promoting such ideas as collapsing Leagues One and Two and instead combining the divisions with the top three non-league tiers.
"You’ll see that the document highlights the role that the major clubs should play in bringing about change given the alternatives that are open to them," Parry wrote.
"[Clarke] also raises a number of contentious issues such as Premier League Two, B Teams and the exclusion of League One and League Two clubs from EPPP. For the avoidance of any doubt this is not to say that Greg was personally in favour of these ideas but that they warranted discussion."
It was Clarke who publicly hit out at the idea of Liverpool and United leading a breakaway from the Premier League in a letter to the FA Council, but Parry alleges that Clarke is the man responsible for even suggesting such a thing in the first place.
Parry goes on to claim that he was invited to talks about restructuring the leagues by Clarke, while Premier League executive Richard Masters was also invited but swiftly declined as he did not want to be part of any off-the-record discussions.
Clarke was already expected to face questioning about just how much he knew about Project Big Picture before the plans went public, and Parry's latest claims will only intensify the spotlight on the FA chief.