Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says he can't understand Leeds United's stance following calls for an independent regulator in English football. In November 2021, Angus Kinnear compared the calls for independent regulator in English football and a transfer levy on Premier League clubs to 'Maoism and the Great Chinese Famine'.
The two aforementioned proposals were among 47 recommendations made by a fan-led review of football governance announced last season. The Whites chief supported the majority of what was included in the review but took exception to those two key issues describing them “as flawed as they are radical”.
The Premier League's big-six clubs have stayed relatively quiet over the Government's plans to introduce a white paper and independent governing body, with proposals given the green light back in February this year. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the proposals would "safeguard the beautiful game for generations to come," but not all clubs are behind the proposals.
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Speaking on The Price of Football podcast: "That is Leeds United. You talk about a collective, which is strange because Angus Kinnear, the chief executive of Leeds United, his first reaction when the regulator was announced was to describe it as 'Maoist collective agriculturalism.'
"In the Leeds United accounts it talks about 'principle risks uncertainties and it says the primary risk facing the group remains the divisional status of the first-team due to the impact of key revenue systems'. I.E regulation is not good, however 'we've got a commercial model to fund a technical set-up which will ensure Premier League retention' so it's saying the right thing.
"It then goes on to say an additional risk has emerged in the form of the Government white paper in response to the fan led review into football. The paper recommends the appointment of an independent regulator, the precise powers of this body remain undefined.
"I.E it could be a bogeyman. This is what we've seen from Richard Masters and those clubs who have spoken about it and it's a common narrative.
"What I think we're also seeing is the big six deliberately being silent about this. It's probably the actions of the big six that accelerated the fan led review. It then says 'precise powers of this body remain undefined but while predicted to materially impact both the clubs finances and elements of the way it currently operates.
"I've got to be honest, I don't see anything. The way that the club operates, well to have a formal fan advisory board to protect the Leeds United crest, to protect the fact that Leeds United play at Elland Road, to protect the fact that Leeds United play in white shirts, unless the fans are prepared to say 'yeah we're going along with that,' I genuinely cannot see what the objections are.
"The big issue as we've already discussed, is coming up with some form of tweaking to the distribution model and that might work to the detriment of individual clubs in the Premier League but not by a huge amount. The reason why I say that, if we take a look at some of the tv deals which are coming on stream over the course of the next few years, they are going to more than offset any increase in money leaving the Premier League in respect of what's likely to go to the EFL, because I don't think the 25 per cent share of the collective money is going to go through as a deal.
"There's no indication from anybody I've spoken to at, what I'd only describe as sources, that would be the case. Yes, I think there's and expectation the Premier League could tweak the parachute payments model, yes, it could give a little bit more money overall but this sort of dystopian - it's going to be the destruction of football as we know it narrative that's coming out - that is being driven by owners and I just think it's unwarranted.
"The pluses outweigh the minuses especially given that Leeds United might not be in the Premier League so therefore a slightly more beneficial deal for the clubs in the EFL isn't necessarily against Leeds' best interests."
"There is no evidence of salary caps," Maguire added. "I hold my hands up here, I occasionally pop up to Westminster area and have a chat with people and keep in touch.
"There's no evidence that parachute payments will be abolished or in fact, that the regulator wants to get involved. It certainly doesn't want to get involved on a day to day basis, fully accepts the Premier League is the driver of success financially or is the generator of funds for football and has been spectacularly successful.
"The Government doesn't want to get involved in that and the opposition probably doesn't want to get involved in that because you could end up looking foolish. Potentially it could become more of a vote loser than a vote winner, if the Government is seen as interfering in the day to day operations of football.
"The Government is also fully aware of FIFA's statute in the sense of there isn't supposed to be government taking control of the game. There is supposed to be independence of the football regulatory bodies so this repeated claims of unknown consequences, there are unknown consequences in every single decision we make on a day to day basis.
"That goes from what I'm going to have for tea tonight. I could get food poisoning from it, I don't know. I don't expect it to be the case but does that mean I shouldn't eat food tonight? No."
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