PL SEEK TO BLOCK CLUBS SELLING THEIR GROUNDS

The Premier League have opened talks with the eFL about introducing a new regulation to prevent clubs from selling their stadiums and leasing them back to inject money into the business. Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, Reading and Aston Villa have all taken advantage of sale-andleaseback schemes to help them comply with the eFL’s spending rules. The sale of Villa Park for £56million to a company controlled by co-owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes edens created an issue for the Premier League after the club were promoted last year. The transaction was eventually approved by the Premier League in March after a nine-month investigation but they are eager to close the loophole that made the sale possible. No club has sold its stadium while in the top flight, although given the financial problems created by the pandemic several are understood to be considering the merits of doing so. The Premier League are eager to remove this temptation by outlawing sale-and-leaseback schemes. The eFL have also concluded that their existing regulations need to be tightened. The eFL suffered a major setback this week when an independent panel ruled that Derby’s sale of Pride Park for £80m to a company controlled and had cost the organisation ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ in legal fees. however, in the 122-page written reasons for the judgment released yesterday, the panel made it clear that the eFL were entitled to bring the charges and that Derby had a case to answer. The panel also dismissed claims from Derby that the charges resulted from a deliberate agenda against the club led by former eFL chief executive Shaun harvey and head of legal affairs Nick Craig.