League One in turmoil: The threat of legal action has smaller clubs fearful for their futures

The EFL has a battle on its hands to get League One owners to agree how the rest of the season plays out amid in-fighting and even threats of legal action.

Peterborough United chairman Darren MacAnthony says he will sue both the EFL and its clubs if his team is denied the chance of a crack at promotion.

Peterborough currently sit in sixth but, if the expected points per game method is used should the season be abandoned, they would drop out of the play-off places.

One owner, talking anonymously to ITV News, is very concerned about a court battle: “Imagine that, we’d not just be dealing with the virus but legal action too, it’d be catastrophic.”

It’s understood that six clubs are keen to continue the season while the rest just want to call a halt to it now and move straight to the play-offs.

The clubs are due to talk again in the next 48 hours, but the owner told ITV News that the legal threat needs to be sorted out by the EFL before that happens because it prevents everyone speaking openly: “Do you want to say things that could be held against you in a legal case?

"It alters the freedom of what you want to say.”

On the wider question of a restart he says there are too many unknowns: “The problem is there is no roadmap before you even get to the money.

"What happens when you start tackling?

"They haven’t even spoken to managers to see if three weeks (training before matches) is even possible.

"To get anything done by the end of July is impossible.

"There’s no certainty.”