ENGLAND’S FAN BAN WAR:

EPL fury at Government restrictions as football faces financial aid snub

THE English Premier League have sparked a public battle with the UK Government after strongly condemning their decision to exclude fans from stadiums in a blanket ban expected to remain in place for most of the season.

And, in another sign of a growing rift, Government sources indicated that professional football is unlikely to receive any funding from a mooted rescue package for sport which was discussed in a meeting with Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden yesterday afternoon.

The Premier League broke ranks before that briefing with officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, criticising the Government within hours of Boris Johnson’s address in the House of Commons for a decison they claimed would have a ‘devastating impact’ on clubs and communities.

The Prime Minister had said the Government could not go ahead with the planned reopening of stadia on a socially-distanced basis from October 1 due to a second wave of coronavirus infections. The proposal would have seen venues capped at between 25 and 35 per cent of capacity.

And he suggested that the measures may remain in place ‘for perhaps six months’.

The response of the 20 top-flight clubs to the funding crisis which is now looming contrasted with that of other major sports, with rugby union and racing effectively begging the government for a bailout.

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said yesterday: ‘Without support, we are in danger of clubs at the heart of communities across England, as well as players and volunteers, disappearing forever.’

It was a stark warning of the problems facing a sport that is forecasting losses of £138million as a result of England’s autumn internationals being played behind closed doors at Twickenham.

Meanwhile, Jockey Club chief executive Nevin Truesdale also called for ‘the Government to step in and provide direct support to the industry’ which he claimed ordinarily contributes £4billion to the economy each year.

Football’s Premier League did not ask the Government for money and there is a widespread acceptance that it will not be forthcoming.

This will alarm many clubs in England’s Leagues One and Two, who fear they will go bust if they do not receive some additional funding in the next two months.

While there is an appetite in Government to provide assistance for the women’s game and at National League level, sources have disclosed that Downing Street does not feel it should be called upon to deliver a rescue package for the Premier League and the English Football League.

There is also a strong belief in Westminster that the Premier League should agree a bailout package with the EFL, in the form of aid or a loan, to see clubs through the crisis.

The Premier League reiterated that its clubs lost £700m due to the pandemic-related disruption to last season, and that English football would lose a collective £100m per month when games are played without fans. But the huge sums which have been spent by some clubs in the transfer market this summer have not gone unnoticed by politicians, with Chelsea alone having invested over £200m on new players. Several clubs have already benefited from Government assistance in the form of tax holidays and furlough money since lockdown began in March.

The Government first asked the Premier League to provide financial support for the rest of the football pyramid in June. But other than advancing solidarity money already owed to the EFL and providing grants for the Women’s Super League and National League, they have yet to make a tangible offer.

The Premier League’s criticism of the Government, and their claim that clubs can accommodate crowds safely, is unlikely to improve relations.

It follows a similar statement from the Premier League a fortnight ago when several plans for test events with fans were cancelled following the introduction of the ‘Rule of Six’ in England.

The FA and the EFL are equally desperate for fans to return and do not have the protection of a £3bn annual television deal to fall back on.

But they are preferring to lobby in private and did not comment on the situation yesterday.

‘Football is not the same without attending fans and the football economy is unsustainable without them,’ said the Premier League in a statement.