Elite clubs ‘used price cap to sway MPs’

RICHARD SCUDAMORE urged leading Premier League clubs to agree a price cap on away tickets to gain political influence when they were the subject of an Ofcom investigation — and to combat their reputation as ‘greedy bastards’. Yesterday, Der Spiegel published their latest Football Leaks revelations and gave a fascinating insight into the battle Scudamore faced to get top sides to accept a £30 cap that was extended only last week for another three seasons. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said he hated the idea, in correspondence obtained by Football Leaks. Scudamore (below), who stepped down as PL chief executive in December but remains in a consultancy role, encouraged the clubs to introduce the cap. ‘No amount of charity giving or the deployment of slick PR can make up for the reputation we have garnered, fairly or unfairly, in the court of public opinion of being greedy bastards and not giving two hoots for the fans,’ he reportedly wrote in an email. Der Spiegel report that Levy responded for the PL’s Big Six, saying: ‘Happy to do a call with us 6 (...) I personally hate the idea.’ Scudamore, however, pointed to political pressure the top flight faced at the time (2016), with MPs supporting calls by fans for more affordable tickets, when the PL was under scrutiny from UK communications regulator Ofcom. Over the issue of a price cap on away tickets, he wrote that he could ‘certainly use it directly with government ministers who can directly influence Ofcom opinion’. The cap was introduced and Ofcom closed its investigation. The Premier League declined to comment last night but a Spurs spokesman said: ‘As a club we absolutely supported assisting away fans — however we proposed our preferred method which related to assisting with travel costs. The issue was debated and resulted in a unanimous decision to set the away price.’