Examples include five MPs and Sir Keir Starmer receiving tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour worth just shy of £15,000, and five more Labour MPs being taken to the Brit Awards courtesy of the PL, costing around £8,500.
This spending was claimed to be “normal practice” by the League. The scandal also comes in the wake of concerns surrounding the Prime Minister’s acceptance of around £18,000 worth of clothing and glasses from Lord Alli.
So, just why are the Premier League lobbying these MPs? It all comes amid news of a potential new Independent Regulator for the English football pyramid. Although, the Tory government’s football governance bill failed, as Rishi Sunak’s government ran out of time, the current Labour government has proposed plans for a new regulator.
In theory, this regulator would have the ability to block future breakaway tournaments such as the Super League of 2021, to make demands of detailed business plans and proof of funding from owners and executives, and to fine clubs up to 10% of turnover for failing to comply with financial regulations, among many other important powers.
Essentially, it would force greater transparency from clubs and owners, could give fans of lower-level sides a greater say in how their club is run, and, as eloquently put by sports-writer Daniel Storey, the regulator would “reinforce… that this sport is ours not theirs.”
In theory, this regulator would have the ability to block future breakaway tournaments such as the Super League of 2021
Therefore, this lobbying has been criticised as an attempt to water down the powers of the potential regulator. Clive Betts, Labour MP, and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on football, believes that the Premier League won’t be able to influence the regulator being set up, “but they can influence what powers it has.”
As we saw with the threat of the Super League three years ago, and the emergence of new competitions, including the much-criticised Nations League, among others, which has resulted in players threatening strike action, it is clear to see that big organisations such as the Premier League do not have the best interests of fans and players alike at heart.
This lobbying of cabinet members is only further evidence of this fact. With a weaker regulator of the PL, the immense wealth of the league will remain in the hands of the few, and we face greater risk of smaller clubs experiencing financial ruin, as can be seen in the cases of Bury, Wigan Athletic, and Portsmouth.
Many more are on a financially fragile knife edge, as the disparity in resources and lack of a powerful regulator threatens the foundations of English football, leaving countless clubs vulnerable to the whims of powerful elites.
