Souness hits out at PFA chief’s millions
Graeme souness has become one of the first big names in the game to protest against the way chief executive Gordon Taylor is running the Professional Footballers’ association.
Souness is a hugely respected pundit with Sky after managing eight clubs following a glittering playing career. and he has gone public with his concern about the PFA under Taylor’s 37-year reign after the latest accounts showed the union has more than £50million in investments and had paid Taylor an annual package of £2.3m.
Souness reports that he approached Taylor in 2004 when manager of newcastle to ask the PFA to fund a carer for his former Liverpool team-mate ray Kennedy, who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and had fallen on hard times.
The PFA did help Kennedy following Souness’s intervention, paying for a carer for one year, after which the support was taken away.
Souness said: ‘If the PFA isn’t set up for helping players long term like ray Kennedy in his circumstances, then I fail to understand what it is there to do. It certainly isn’t there to act like a public company — making a profit for shareholders. all that money in the bank has to be used to help footballers who need helping, at whatever level of professional football.
‘Something has to be done about the way Gordon Taylor has turned a players’ union into a business that pays him millions, yet they cannot provide a carer for ray for more than a year.’
The PFA made no comment.
GEORGIE
BINGHAM (right) has been dropped from her role as a regular Premier League Productions TV news presenter. This follows Ipswich fan Bingham posting tweets connected with her weekend TALKSPORT show that upset football clubs and her TV employer. Neither producers IMG nor Bingham’s representatives would comment owing to possible legal action around her departure. PHIL TOWNSEND’S departure from manchester united to become UEFA’s new managing director of communications, as first revealed by Sports
Agenda, has had unexpected repercussions for the joint bid by the united States, mexico and Canada to host the 2026 world Cup.
The triple bid is advised by top British Pr sports strategists Jon Tibbs associates, where Townsend’s wife Sevi is managing director and a leading lobbyist.
and with UEFA having an influence over how 54 european nations will vote in the FIFA congress election in moscow in June, JTA have agreed to step down from a campaign role to avoid any conflict of interest.
a statement said: ‘ while the 2026 united Bid and JTA have enjoyed a fruitful relationship, this is the natural and logical step to take. The united Bid always strives to adhere to the highest standards of integrity in full compliance with the FIFA code of ethics and bid regulations.’
ENGLISH
rugby union’s second-tier competition — the Championship — has been the subject of a review by accountants Ernest & Young. They have looked into all aspects of the troubled competition, including finances and promotion to the Premiership and the increasing gap between the two tiers. Changes that have already been agreed by the RFU include scrapping the British & Irish Cup competition and introducing a 12-club, Championship-only cup competition played in pools followed by knockout stages. The top flight is not immune from problems, though, with Harlequins losing £4.8m in the last financial year.