The Premier League risk breaching their £3billion television contract for this season if the competition is not completed by the end of July.
Sportsmail has learned that, under the terms of contracts signed with Sky Sports, BT Sport and overseas broadcasters, the Premier League are committed to delivering a completed fixture programme by July 31, with the contract for the next season kicking in on August 1.
With all 20 clubs having nine or 10 matches of their 38-game programme remaining, as much as £750million of income could be lost, which will lend urgency to the Premier League’s attempts to agree a timetable for restarting the season at a meeting scheduled for Thursday.