Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has warned legislators not to “wound the golden goose” through heavy regulation. The Football Governance Bill, which has the creation of an independent regulator for the sport at its core, is set for its second reading in Parliament after the Easter recess, and could bring with it big changes.
The Government and those who support the regulator believe it will encourage financial sustainability in the professional game and make clubs more accountable to their fans. However, Masters has again warned of the risks it poses.
“As chief executive of the Premier League, my overriding concern is that the bill would reduce our competitiveness and weaken the incredible appeal of the English game,” he wrote in The Times on Tuesday. “It is a risk that regulation will undermine the Premier League’s global success, thereby wounding the goose that provides English football’s golden egg.
It is a risk to regulate an industry that has worked so hard to lead the world, especially when none of its competitors are subject to the same regulation. Those competitors are relishing the prospect of the Premier League being uniquely constrained.
“Empires rise and fall – and while I am confident about the league’s immediate future, it would be a mistake to be complacent about our place as the world’s most popular league.”
Masters has raised the alarm over the potential for the regulator to be handed powers to dictate the distribution of TV revenue from the Premier League down to the EFL and further into the football pyramid.
There was a sense of an imminent agreement between the leagues last month, but Premier League clubs decided to prioritise setting their own financial regulation process which is expected to take time due to varying stances among the 20 member clubs.
In his statement, Masters, who pointed out the current £1.6billion contribution over three years from the Premier League to the wider game, said,”Already, before it has even arrived, the promise of regulatory intervention in football finances has changed incentives for a new voluntary arrangement to be struck.”
He continued: “We have spent the past year in discussions with the EFL about an even more generous financial settlement. But these talks have only served to highlight how destabilising intervention could be.”
Masters also noted the EFL’s position, stating: “The EFL has indicated it would happily accept a generous new deal from the Premier League but would also immediately use the new regulator to seek even more money for its clubs, including the Championship, which is already the sixth-richest league in Europe, with many very wealthy club owners of its own.”
“The government claims its regulator would not interfere on the pitch, but by intervening in the carefully calibrated distribution of revenues and upsetting competitive balance, it would already be doing exactly that.”
