Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan has branded Liverpool executive Ian Ayre's TV rights plans as "diabolical".

Ayre had suggested that the club should be able to negotiate their own rights outside of England, something which clubs are currently banned from doing under league rules.

However, Whelan believes that the plans could make the financial gap between clubs even wider and ruin the English game.

"I have just read [Ayre's] comments and I find them diabolical - I just can't believe what he has been saying," Whelan told Goal.com.

"They are thinking 'how can we get more money?' You won't get more money by killing the heart and soul of the Premier League and killing the heart and soul of football in England.

"We invented the game and we have still got the finest league in the whole world and some of the finest supporters in the whole world and they want to rip the whole thing up."

The Latics chairman also thinks that Liverpool fans would most likely be against any overseas deals.

"I don't even think the Liverpool supporters would be behind it. They are very loyal people but they won't go along with this," he added.

"Luckily the thoughts of the American owners don't go across the Premier League. They still have to go through the Premier League and hopefully common sense will prevail here. We need to keep what we have got here and that is the finest league in the world."

Wigan host Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League on Saturday, while Liverpool entertain Manchester United.