'Seriously, f*ck off!' - Gary Neville fumes at 'absolute scandal' of WSL potentially scrapping relegation

Representatives from all WSL and Women's Championship clubs met at the end of last month and several topics were discussed, including the idea of temporarily scrapping relegation from the top-flight while still allowing promotion from the second-tier, in order to grow the WSL and Championship into 16-team leagues. There are currently 12 teams in the WSL and 11 in the Championship.

While proposals from the Women's Professional League Limited (WPLL), which runs the leagues, are still being refined, the Guardian reported that one would see relegation suspended for four seasons, allowing newly-promoted teams to adjust to the top-flight and make the investments required into their facilities, staff and playing squad.

Crystal Palace, promoted to the WSL this season, are currently four points adrift at the bottom of the WSL table, having won just one of their 15 games. Bristol City were the newly-promoted addition last year and were unable to avoid the drop on their first attempt, managing just one victory all campaign.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, Neville said of speculation: "I think it's an absolute scandal. And look, I'm not as close to the women's game as you two are, but I think it's an absolute scandal. And what's a scandal about it is the entitlement, the entitlement of football club owners who think they can invest money, but they need a guarantee and a certainty.

"'Scrap relegation or I won't invest in the women's game'. That isn't a position of a good person. F*ck off then. No, seriously, f*** off out the game because, to be honest with you, fact of the matter is, in football, you're going to lose money, you're going to make money. You have no problem with basically spending £350,000 a week on a player and losing £20 million a year on them and spending £60m on a fee for a player that you might only get £10m back for. But you won't put £15m - I'd say less if it was £100m - into the women's game. What I am against is this idea that basically they want to close shop and they think that basically they should only be in it."

BBC Sport reported last week that several clubs in the bottom half of the WSL were in support of the idea because they believe it would give them 'a better chance to compete in the future'. Meanwhile, sources at clubs higher up in the table but still yet to break into the top four told BBC Sport that if their top-flight future was secure, it 'could encourage owners to invest more in elite facilities and girls' academies'.

However, it is something that has caused widespread outrage as well. "What I said was to the WPLL is that there's no way I can back anything you're doing if it's got [no] relegation to do with it," Ian Wright said earlier in the same episode of Stick to Football. "You're taking away one of the core fundaments of the English game, what it's about, the jeopardy of coming up, going down, and everything that comes with that."

A vote will take place in May, at the end of the season, on the final proposals put forward by the WPLL. A two-thirds majority vote across clubs in the WSL and Championship would be needed for the change to be made.