Premier League gets government warning over EFL funding
The Premier League has until the summer to reach a new agreement on payments to the EFL and the football pyramid or risk the threat of a transfer levy and other tougher terms being imposed upon it by a new independent regulator.
The Government gave its support to a regulator backed by statute yesterday, as recommended by the fan-led review last November.
It is open to giving the new body backstop powers to impose a solution on the Premier League if it and the EFL have failed to make sufficient progress on carving up television cash before a white paper setting out further detail is published this summer.
Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said: “The message to the Premier League is quite clear – they need to act sooner rather than later because, otherwise, [a settlement] will be forced on them through the regulator.”
The Government’s written response to the fan-led review, published yesterday added:
“We have been pressing for a solution in this regard and although some progress has been made, it is disappointing that this appears to remain some way off. We will make an assessment on the likelihood of agreement for a footballled solution and will confirm whether there will be a role for the regulator in redistributing income when we publish the white paper.”
One of the most controversial recommendations of the fan-led review was a transfer levy on Premier League clubs. Huddleston said such a levy was “potentially in the mix depending upon what the Premier League and others come up with”.
He added: “We want to keep the pressure on for the Premier
League to come up with their own solution first.”
The Premier League is currently committed to providing £1.6billion in funding outside the top flight over the next three seasons.
Its chief executive Richard Masters has previously said it would be “a disaster” if the EFL’S request for a 25 per cent cut of broadcast revenues was met.
EFL chairman Rick Parry told PA last week he hoped the Government's response would serve as a "catalyst" in the negotiations over financial distribution.