The Premier League must use some of its millions to prevent lower-league clubs from going to the wall, one club chairman has said.

EFL clubs are facing further uncertainty as a result of fans being prevented from returning to games.

Carlisle United have called on the authorities to provide "speedy clarification" on the possible implications for clubs and the league.

Gillingham chairman Paul Scally, meanwhile, issued a stark warning about the future of the lower leagues unless there is some emergency help.

He claimed his League One club is currently losing £40,000 a week and said the wealthy top-flight should step in.

Speaking to Mirror Sport, Scally said: “You cannot tell me that with Chelsea spending £200m in the transfer market there is no money in the Premier League to help out the EFL clubs.

“We should be a family in football. We’ve been a family for 125 years and now when a member of the family is struggling badly it’s time for wealthy big brother to step up and help the family. It’s as simple as that."

Scally said help for EFL clubs cannot come soon enough, otherwise clubs will go to the wall.

He added: “At the moment, we are surviving purely on what we get from the TV contract but that’s not sustainable. You can’t go on like that for any length of time.

“We rely on match day revenue and all the ancillary business that goes with that. We are losing £40,000-a-week at the moment and would be out of business by Christmas.

"Some clubs will be worse off than us, some will have benefactors but this is devastating for all of us.

“I’ve just got to hope that the Premier League do the right thing and I’m putting my faith in them, Rick Parry and the EFL to come to the rescue. The Premier League will know the importance of the football pyramid and help the family in our hour of need.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson today said the Government were "urgently" looking at ways to help clubs.

After Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove this morning confirmed the suspension of plans to welcome fans back to stadiums, Carlisle this morning said: "This is incredibly bad news. We’ll be watching closely for official, succinct and hopefully speedy clarification of what this means to us, the EFL and the game as a whole."

The Premier League today warned that "the football economy" is "unsustainable" without supporters in grounds and said it was "certain" fans could attend stadiums safely.