Matt Maher: Sporting merit in Premier League – sweet FA in non-league

FA chairman Gregg Clarke’s intervention at the start of Monday’s conference call involving all 20 top-flight clubs was a deliberately-timed move, designed to take the heat out of a meeting in which it was thought the possibility of taking relegation off the table might be raised.

Yet the governing body’s stance was also noted with interest by those much further down football’s pyramid, who are now questioning why the same desire for ‘sporting merit’ did not apply last month, when the FA board ratified a decision to declare every division below the National League null and void?

It was a decision which saw hundreds of results expunged, while in two cases clubs were denied promotions already mathematically won.

More than 150 non-league clubs signed a letter urging the FA to reconsider, among them Halesowen Town, who saw an excellent campaign in Southern League Central Division One come to nothing.

The Yeltz sat second in the table when the season was halted but would have finished top had a points-per-game formula been used and promotion and relegation applied.

They, along with South Shields who were 12 points clear at the top of the Northern Premier League when matches were halted, have spent the past weeks taking advice from lawyers while watching intently to see what develops in the leagues above.

For now the focus is on the National League, which is expected to reach a resolution on its season in the coming days, yet also the situation in Leagues One and Two.

Should any of those divisions be decided on a points-per-game basis, legal action from non-league clubs is likely inevitable. “Our fight for justice isn’t over,” tweeted South Shields owner Geoff Thompson yesterday.

Non-league clubs would no doubt point out that, though the sums of money involved might be very different at Premier League level, the principle remains the same. The decision to declare seasons null and void was ultimately made by the leagues themselves, yet the FA were happy to ratify it.

Such things cut both ways too. It was certainly interesting to note Norwich City sporting director Stuart Webber reference the situation in non-league football when arguing why, in his opinion, there should be no relegation from the Premier League should the season fail to be completed, or even if the top flight is finished but the Championship not.

“I know in non-league they have already said there is no promotion or relegation (if the season isn’t finished), so I don’t know how you can change the rules,” he said.

“I don’t think that is fair and I honestly don’t believe anyone would believe that is fair.”

Clubs at the bottom of the Premier League might also be aware the FA, after ratifying the decision to declare the non-league season null and void, published a lengthy written explanation as to why they had opted against the points-per-game method.

It included the reasoning that clubs sitting in relegation zones ‘may consider it to be unfair for them to be denied the opportunity to secure safety through sporting merit’.

Don’t bet against that statement being brought up in the mammoth legal fight which would ensue should a club find themselves relegated from the Premier League using a points-per-game model.

The first legal challenge over an incomplete season, meanwhile, appears likely to come from non-league. The clear message from the likes of Halesowen Town and South Shields is the FA has not heard the last of them.