League Two’s season has been brought to an early conclusion following discussions between clubs and the English Football League.
After an indicative vote by the clubs, the table is set to be decided using a weighted points-per-game method, while the play-offs would be played as usual.
But any move still needs to be ratified by the EFL and Football Association.
Meanwhile, teams in League One will have to meet again on Monday after failing to come to an agreement.
On Thursday, six third-tier clubs had said they were determined to complete their remaining fixtures.
Peterborough United, Oxford United, Sunderland, Fleetwood, Portsmouth and Ipswich Town released a joint statement saying they had “no desire for voiding the season, points-per-game scenarios or letting a computer decide our footballing fate”.
Who will finish where in the final table?
It is understood League Two clubs want to use a weighted points-per-game system to finalise the table, which takes into account the average points won both home and away.
That method is intended to remove any bias towards sides who have played more home games than their rivals.
It has also been proposed that nobody will be relegated from League Two to the National League – meaning Stevenage, who are set to stay bottom of the table, would remain in the EFL.
At the top, Swindon Town would overtake Crewe Alexandra to claim the title, with Plymouth Argyle staying in the third and final automatic promotion spot.
The four teams currently in the play-offs – Exeter City, Cheltenham Town, Colchester United and Northampton Town – would remain there, but Cheltenham would move above Exeter and into fourth.
Stevenage owner Phil Wallace told BBC Sport: “My preference is to finish the league so we have the opportunity to play our way out of trouble.
“We have 10 games to play and are three points behind, with a game in hand, why should I think it was not possible to get out of it?
“The League Two clubs cannot decide this. We can only tell the EFL of their indicative position but that is the collective view.
“It would cost us £140,000 for the tests, we would have to bring players out of furlough and comply with a 47-page health and safety document regarding sterilisation of stadiums etc.
“I don’t know what this would mean for the National League.”
Why can’t they restart?
Attempting to resume the League One and League Two campaigns was always likely to to be more difficult than in the Championship and Premier League, which could begin again in mid-June behind closed doors.
Many clubs in the third and fourth tiers have furloughed their players and, with no crowds allowed into stadiums for the foreseeable future, it would cost them money to stage games.
EFL chairman Rick Parry has also said 1,400 players across the league’s three divisions are out of contract on 30 June. The majority of those players are in League One and League Two.
The National League decided to end its three divisions immediately on 22 April but they were waiting on the EFL to announce an outcome before deciding on promotion and relegation.
source: bbc
