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Crystal Palace chairman Parish: Champions League revamp threat to local English game

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has again hit out at plans to revamp the Champions League.

Huge reforms to Europe's leading club competition have divided opinion across football and were dramatically objected to on Tuesday, leading to a delay in the vote to rubber stamp them.

The plans include growing the Champions League from 32 to 36 teams, increasing the number of matches by 100, and giving preferential access to the continent's biggest clubs from 2024.

Writing in a column in The Times, Parish said: "It is my view that we need to scrutinise them (the plans) every bit as much as we do decisions taken in the Premier League. Make no mistake, these are the latest in a long line of machinations that represent long-term threats to domestic football as we know it.

"When we vote in the Premier League, I understand that we have a unique responsibility and duty to the game and that there will be scrutiny of our decisions — as there should be.

"In contrast, there is a very real danger these fundamental European reforms — which would begin to change football irrevocably — could just slip through.

"Let's be clear about these proposals, most clubs don't want them, most fans don't want them, broadcasters aren't asking for them.

"But it is likely that they will pass because 20 members of the ECA have effectively highjacked the governance of the game. They also know that the consequences are so remote that by the time we wake up to it, it will be probably be too late."

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