Gordon Brown has warned that the ‘runaway greed’ of Premier League owners will ruin English football if the Government does not adopt the sweeping reforms recommended in a review of the national game.
The former Prime Minister said professional football needs an independent regulator to scrutinise its club owners and prevent teams being ‘destroyed’ by the unscrupulous among them. He also lent his support for a transfer tax in the Premier League and the ownership model that grants fans a ‘golden share’ in their club.
Brown is arguably the highest-profile political figure to intervene in the debate over how football’s governance should be reformed to safeguard its future.
Premier League owners' greed threatens to derail the top flight by refusing to accept new reforms, according to Gordon Brown
The former Labour leader served as Chancellor of the Exchequer for a decade before his three-year tenure as Prime Minister ended in 2010. A committed supporter of Raith Rovers, his local club in Kirkcaldy, he addressed the domestic game’s ownership issues during his time in office and warned clubs of their mounting debt.
His exclusive column in The Mail on Sunday today highlights his continuing concerns after owners of several Premier League clubs, notably Leeds United and Aston Villa, opposed key tenets of Tracey Crouch’s review of the sport.
These included the proposal for an independent regulator and a 10 per cent transfer levy, with clubs understood to prefer an oversight body that would remain within football’s administrative structure. Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive, has also suggested that aspects of Crouch’s review were too radical.
‘The Premier League’s implacable opposition to sensible reforms that will, for once, put the aspirations of the fans and grassroots football ahead of the greed of billionaire owners is yet another reason why it is time to seize an unparalleled opportunity to force through change,’ writes Brown.
The former Prime Minister believes the Premier League need an independent regulator to keep English football in check
‘Runaway greed, made possible by what often seems like a free- for-all in club ownership and poor overall supervision, is in danger of destroying the best football league in the world and all that is good about the game.’
The Government commissioned Crouch, the former sports minister, to chair the fan-led report in response to the flood of opposition to the European Super League proposals last spring. Six Premier League clubs signed up to plans that included no provision for relegation.
Published in November, Crouch’s review laid out 47 recommendations designed to safeguard the football pyramid and prevent the elite from attempting to distance themselves from the lower echelons again. In his column, Brown says he
