League One: Clubs and EFL unable to decide whether to end season early

League One clubs have failed to agree whether to end the season early following discussions with the English Football League.

Friday’s meeting involving all 23 sides in the division came after six clubs had said they were determined to complete their remaining fixtures.

The league was halted on 13 March amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The clubs will meet again on Monday, while teams in League Two are due to carry out discussions later on Friday.

BBC Sport understands there is a general acceptance among clubs in both League One and League Two that resuming the current campaign is impossible because of a lack of money.

But on Thursday 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”.

A Twitter post by Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony, whose side are sixth with nine games to play, added: “For our fans/staff and for the integrity of our sport, we are all looking forward to completing our pending fixtures/season under guidance from the EFL at a time it is deemed safe to do so.”

• Follow updates from Friday’s League One and League Two meetings
• League One and League Two – what happens next?

It is understood Friday’s meeting via conference call saw clubs unable to come to a united position and so they will reconvene early next week.

Attempting to restart the League One and League Two campaigns is likely 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 will only decide on how to sort out promotion and relegation once there is an outcome in the EFL.