Football Regulator: Reform UK demand government ‘leave football alone’
Reform UK has slammed plans for a football regulator interfering in the Premier League, insisting the government should “leave it alone”.
A this week drew sarcastic digs from both sports minister Stephanie Peacock and her shadow counterpart Louie French on the football regulator, which has recently concluded a series of debates in the House of Lords.
But Rupert Lowe, Reform UK MP for Great Yarmouth and former chairman of Southampton, hit out at plans for what the government have described as a “soft-touch regulator”, saying that he is “one of the very few people elected who has any actual experience of the industry”.
“I can honestly say that the Premier League works,” he said. “Britain does not have many success stories left, but our domestic football is one of them. My message to all of you is leave it alone.”
“Do any of you understand the consequences of what you are looking to do,” Lowe asked. “Regulating these industries does not work. London as a financial centre has withered and died on the vine since the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Why would football be any different? The Premier League projects unrivalled soft power, rakes in a fortune for HM Revenue and Customs and is actually good fun, usually offering competitive football, despite Southampton’s woeful record this season.”
Government slap down
Peacock later slapped down those against the Football Governance Bill, saying calls for change date back to 2011 and that the pledge was in the manifesto of the three largest parties at the last general election.
“We on the Government side of the House are following through on that commitment and are on the side of football fans,” she added in Westminster Hall this week.
“The Bill will introduce a new regulator for the game. It is intended to cover the top five levels of the men’s game. There will be strengthened tests for owners and directors. It will make clubs more financially resilient and will put fans back at the heart of their clubs. This is designed to be a light-touch regulator.”
Reform: Leave football alone
Amendments were proposed by members of the House of Lords in a number of committee sessions, many by the likes of West Ham vice-chair Baroness Brady.
The Bill will return to the Commons to be debated before it becomes law, and Premier League and EFL chiefs have each been lobbying their side of the debate.
Concluded Lowe: “What is the Government’s plan? It was first proposed by the Conservatives, of course: regulate, strangulate, suffocate. Who wants that to happen the most? LaLiga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and even the Saudis.
“A regulator would deter foreign investment and add bureaucracy to an already heavily governed industry. It is ludicrous and does nothing to protect clubs in the lower leagues. It should be revoked.
“Let us encourage and campaign, not regulate. The private sector built this success without regulation. My overriding message to all of you is ‘leave football alone’.”