LONDON: Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has hit out at plans for an independent regulator of English football, saying it could damage the league’s competitive advantage over the rest of Europe.
The UK government has introduced a bill to enshrine it into law and could attempt to force the move through before a general election, expected later this year.
A regulator will have a raft of powers to ensure clubs are sustainably run and the ability to block teams from joining breakaway competitions such as the European Super League.
Premier League clubs enjoy the biggest broadcasting revenues in world football.
However, top-flight teams have been at loggerheads with the English Football League (EFL), which controls the three divisions below the Premier League, over a new funding agreement for the pyramid.
A deal worth around £900 million ($1.1 billion) over six years for the lower leagues, and tied to future TV revenues, has been held up for months due to disagreements between Premier League clubs.
Teams in English football’s elite competition were warned by the government last month that failure to reach a funding deal would lead to one being imposed on them.
Masters, however, insisted regulation risks harming the Premier League’s status as the world’s most-watched league.
“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.”
Concerns expressed by Premier League clubs have been dismissed by those working on much smaller budgets in the lower leagues.
“The gap is just getting bigger and bigger between the Premier League and the rest (of Europe), so the idea that the Premier League is going to be unduly constrained or no longer competitive, I just don’t even see how that argument gets to first base,” said EFL chairman Rick Parry.
Premier League chief fears regulator could kill ‘golden goose’
https://arab.news/6tbsm
Premier League chief fears regulator could kill ‘golden goose’
- A regulator will have a raft of powers to ensure clubs are sustainably run and the ability to block teams from joining breakaway competitions such as the European Super League
- Masters, however, insisted regulation risks harming the Premier League’s status as the world’s most-watched league
Palestine, Syria celebrate reaching Arab Cup quarter-finals
- Both nations knew a draw in their final Group A match would secure Palestine top spot with Syria progressing in second place
DOHA: Celebrations erupted on the pitch and in the stands in Doha on Sunday when both Palestine and Syria made it through to the Arab Cup quarter-finals following a 0-0 draw.
For both sides, reaching the knockout stage in the regional tournament hosted by Qatar was magnified by the all-too recent memory of conflict in their homelands.
Only weeks ago in Gaza, the war sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel came to a halt under a fragile ceasefire plan brokered by the United States.
For the Syrian side, the game came on the eve of the anniversary of the ousting of Bashar Assad, who unleashed years of war with his crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
Both nations knew a draw in their final Group A match would secure Palestine top spot with Syria progressing in second place.
Even ahead of the final whistle, around 40,000 fans packing the Education City Stadium began dancing and chanting to celebrate the two sides’ entry into the last eight.
And at the end of the game, players on the pitch swapped jerseys and posed for photographs together, as the squads’ coaches embraced each other.
“We are very happy to top the group, which included two great teams like Qatar and Tunisia, and we congratulate all Palestinian fans,” said Palestine striker Oday Dabbagh.
“We played to win, especially after learning about Tunisia’s lead over Qatar, but we lacked the final touch in front of the goal... The most important thing is that we qualified.”
Palestine coach Ehab Abu Jazar paid tribute to his mother, who along with his brother and other loved ones had to flee her home and now lives in a tent in Gaza.
“She has a lot of experience with sports, and she told me to play carefully,” he told AFP.
Syrian striker Mahmoud Al-Mawas said the result “means a lot to Syrians because it coincides with the Liberation Day celebrations...
“Now, all our focus will be on the quarter-final.”
At a cafe in the Syrian capital, Damascus, 30-year-old Wafa Durri watched the game, with her country’s flag adorning her right cheek.
“I had never supported the national team, but after the liberation everything changed, and now I support it with all my heart,” she said.
