Football clubs at “genuine risk” and “need to be protected”
A government-sanctioned, fan-led review of English football has made 47 recommendations to address concerns over governance of the game.
The review, which was chaired by former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch MP, highlighted the European Super League proposal as evidence of the existential threat that many in the game currently face. “While that threat has receded – for now – the dangers facing many clubs across the country are very real,” wrote Crouch. “Football clubs are not ordinary businesses. They play a critical social, civic and cultural role in their local communities.”
The key recommendations of the now fully-published review include:
• The introduction of a government-licensed Independent Regulator for English Football (IREF) to regulate finances and ownership. • Establishing new owners’ and directors’ tests for clubs to ensure that only good custodians and qualified directors can take charge.
• A stamp duty-style tax on every Premier League transfer fee, to be redistributed among the lower leagues.
• Ensuring that supporters are properly consulted by their clubs in taking key decisions, by means of a Shadow Board.
Elsewhere, the review also addressed the issue of Parachute Payments, whereby clubs relegated from the Premier League continue to receive money in order to help deal with the
loss of revenue. The English Football League believes that the payments only worsen the disparity between the top flight and the rest of the football pyramid.
While the review was warmly welcomed by many, it did have its critics, most notably among Premier League board members. Steve Parish of Crystal Palace described the plans as a “huge act of self-harm”, West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady wrote in her column in The Sun that Crouch “is confusing competition with fairness”, and Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow claimed the recommendations would risk “killing the golden goose” of the Premier League. Leeds United’s chief executive Angus Kinnear drew plenty of ire for comparing the plans to “Maoist collective agriculturalism”.
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