'We've been cheated': Peterborough United hit out at the EFL after they and Sunderland are denied a play-off place

Peterborough United director of football Barry Fry says the club feel cheated by an EFL decision that he has described as a ‘disgrace’.
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Along with Sunderland and Tranmere Rovers, Posh were one of the major losers from Tuesday’s vote – which saw the League One season curtailed and places decided on an unweighted points-per-game basis.

That framework saw Peterborough, along with the Black Cats, miss out on the chance to compete in the end of season play-offs.

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And Fry has pulled no punches in his assessment of the process, which he claims has been a ‘farce’.

Peterborough United have hit out at the EFL over their voting processPeterborough United have hit out at the EFL over their voting process
Peterborough United have hit out at the EFL over their voting process

“The EFL have been a disgrace throughout this process,” said Fry, speaking to the Peterborough Telegraph.

“Just last week they arranged for four clubs they knew were going to be in the play-offs to be tested for coronavirus. They did this before today’s vote and those clubs had returned to training before today’s vote. How on earth can that be right? What on earth was the point of today’s vote when the EFL knew what the result would be?

“The whole thing has been a farce. They’ve not taken into account home form or the fixtures teams had left. They’ve promoted teams and put teams into the play-offs in a very dubious way.

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“If this is what they wanted, why didn’t they just say so instead of letting it drag out unnecessarily? I’m astonished they have let this play out as they have.

“We’ve been cheated. I feel so sorry for the chairman, the board, the manager and especially the fans. We set our stall out to win promotion this season and we felt we still had a great chance to achieve it.”

Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony was also critical of the decision and the process that proceeded it.

“The state of my timeline full of fans loving the fact that 18 'football clubs' voted to not play football & the ramifications of it,” he tweeted.

“Bravo to the 4 Football clubs who did vote to play on. The @EFL @SkyBetLeagueOne s*** show draws to a close. Enjoy your summer football fans.”