the times | Thursday May 26 2022 73
Sport
first season after relegation and last for
three years.
Parry said that research carried out
by the EFL found “quite chilling”
figures, including that since 2010-11 the
total paid out to all clubs in a season in
parachute payments has risen from
£30 million to £250 million. The like-
lihood of parachute clubs being pro-
moted has gone up from twice as likely
as other clubs from 2007 to 2017 to three
times as likely over the past five years.
“It is a major distortion,” he said. “The
solidarity payments that the other
Championship clubs will get is 11 per
cent of the first year of parachute [pay-
Parachute payments are ‘chilling’
ments to a club]. So it is by definition
saying parachute clubs get ten times as
much money as everybody else.”
One parachute payment of £44 mil-
lion is also substantially more than the
£36 million paid to all 48 League One
and League Two clubs collectively.
“The fact that there are parachute
payments shows the Premier League
knows there is a problem,” Parry said.
“You don’t need a parachute to fall off a
step. You need a parachute to fall off a
cliff. So there is a cliff edge and the Pre-
mier League knows there is a cliff edge.”
Parry said that he would be “on
board” with ideas suggested by the
Premier League for money to be
distributed based on merit, dependingon where a club finish in the league, and
with new cost controls. “We’ve got no
issue with that at all,” he said.
The Championship may not be a
VAR-free zone for much longer, Parry
disclosed, if the clubs decide to adopt a
cheaper system known as “VAR Light”
— which would not have the expensive
offside technology or the number of
cameras used in the Premier League.
“There are systems in place now that
look quite exciting,” he said, but added
that they were subject to approval by
Fifa. “If you look at the PGMOL [Pro-
fessional Game Match Officials Board]
statistics there is a clear gap between
the accuracy with VAR and the accura-
cy without and you probably can’t getbeyond 90 per cent accuracy without.
It’s common sense that if we want to
achieve a lift upwards then the only way
to do that is with technology.”
Burnley’s relegation from the Pre-
mier League means the EFL could be
faced with issues in the future around
how the club cope financially, given the
owners, ALK Capital, borrowed heavily
to buy the club last year.
Parry believes that leveraged buy-
outs could be greatly limited, at least in
the level of borrowing, in the future by
the new independent regulator.
“Do I think that it will come within
the scope of the regulator? Yes,” he said.
“They are risky in business, in football
they are probably ten times more risky.”900 England
fans to hand
in passports
Almost 900 England fans will have to
surrender their passports at their local
police station when England play
Germany in the Nations League game
in Munich on June 7.
The FA and English police are
mounting an extensive security opera-
tion after problems when England
played Germany in Dortmund in 2017,
and on previous occasions, as well as
heightened sensitivity felt in light of the
recent increase in misbehaviour at
English club games.
There are 1,122 banning orders in
place at present, including the 880 who
have to hand their passports in for three
to four days to ensure they do not travel
to Munich. England have sold their
allocation of 3,466 tickets for the game
at the Allianz Arena but there are con-
cerns over ticketless fans also heading
out. The game is on a Tuesday, so will
not attract the weekend crowd, some of
whom scarred England’s visit to
Amsterdam to play Holland on Friday
March 23, 2018. There were 114 arrests
in Amsterdam.
Germany is always an emotive
fixture, and there were 3,000 banning
orders for the World Cup in Germany
in 2006. There are concerns this time
especially as many fans will be travel-
ling on the Monday, June 6 — D-Day.
The FA will be sending messages to the
travelling support of the importance of
being respectful, avoiding the “ten
German bombers” chant, and to
remember, in the words of the manager
Gareth Southgate, that “they are
ambassadors for the country”.
The police are sending six dedicated
spotters, and 12 experienced stewards
from Wembley to offer their expertise
and the FA, as usual, will liaise with the
local police force.
There will be no alcohol on sale in the
Allianz but fans are expected, as usual,
to gather in Marienplatz and assorted
adjacent squares with bars. England
have not played in Munich since the 5-1
World Cup qualifying win in 2001.
England’s next home game, against
Italy at Molineux on June 11, is behind
closed doors after Uefa imposed a
two-game stadium ban (with one
suspended) after the riot at the Euro
2020 final at Wembley last summer.Henry Winter Chief Football Writercontinued from back
N
ewcastle United are
prepared to break
their transfer record
to land the Brazil
midfielder Lucas Paquetá
(Martin Hardy writes).
The 24-year-old has
emerged as one of Eddie
Howe’s top targets this
summer. Newcastle are
weighing up an offer for
the Lyon midfielder that
would surpass the record
fee they spent on Bruno
Guimarães, a good friend of
Paquetá.
The club, now 80 per cent
owned by Saudi Arabia’s
public investment fund,
signed Guimarães for a fee
that could rise to
£43 million during the
January window, their first
under the new owners.
They are prepared to
back the head coach again
once the window opens and
Howe has shortlisted
Paquetá. Newcastle would
have to pay about
£50 million to land him, but
such a figure is no longer a
problem for the club.
Paquetá, an attackingmidfielder, has scored nine
goals in each of the past two
Ligue 1 campaigns for Lyon,
assisting on four goals as
well this season.
The former AC Milan
player is seen as a natural
fit with his fellow Brazilians
Guimarães and the
rejuvenated Joelinton. Healso played six times as a
centre forward for Lyon last
season and, with Callum
Wilson having had two
successful but injury-
plagued seasons since he
joined Newcastle from
Bournemouth for
£20 million, that versatility
is also appealing.Paquetá, who joined
Flamengo as a child and
made his debut for them
when he was 19, joined AC
Milan for £30 million in- The next year he
moved to France to link up
with Guimarães at Lyon.
The pair are such good
friends that Paquetá visited
the North East last week on
a private jet, staying with
Guimarães. Arsenal have
also been credited with an
interest in Paquetá.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-
old midfielder Sean
Longstaff has signed a new
three-year contract to stay
at Newcastle.Howe could
smash record
for Paquetá
CATHERINE STEENKESTE/GETTY IMAGES
Paquetá, right,
and Guimarães
are friends
from their
time at Lyon