Villa join Premier League strugglers fighting neutral venue plan

Aston Villa became the latest Premier League club threatened by relegation to reject proposals to restart the season behind closed doors at neutral venues on Wednesday.

Villa's chief executive Christian Purslow said the plan would increase the risk of an economic "catastrophe" for his club should they fall out of the lucrative English top-flight.

Brighton chief executive Paul Barber also admitted to "self-interest" in objecting to the proposals, while West Ham vice-chairman Karen Brady has claimed "no one wants" to play at neutral sites.

Premier League chiefs believe they will only be given the green light from government to resume at a limited number of venues as it would reduce the strain on essential services and discourage gatherings of supporters near stadiums.

But clubs at risk of relegation argue that the integrity of the competition would be compromised by the neutral-venue plan.

One controversial idea being floated by those at risk at the bottom of the table is to scrap relegation for this season even if matches can restart.

Villa are second bottom, two points from safety, but with a game in hand on fourth-bottom Watford.

"At the bottom end of the table there's a much smaller revenue base, but the risk of relegation is probably a 200 million Pound (USD 247 million) catastrophe for any club that mathematically could still go down," Purslow told TalkSport.

"We're a club that prides itself on home form. Two-thirds of our wins this season have come at home.

"We've got six home games left to play and I think any Villa fan would agree that giving up that advantage is a massive decision for somebody running Aston Villa and I certainly wouldn't agree to that unless those circumstances are right."
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