The Premier League has made a last-ditch attempt to reshape the role of an independent regulator for English football (Iref), weeks before legislation is expected to be announced in parliament.
After two years of negotiations and consultation on proposals, with a white paper published in the spring and a period of consultation to which the government responded in September, the league has submitted a new plan to officials in recent weeks.
According to people who have seen the proposals, the Premier League argues that any new settlement should allow the league to retain a number of regulatory functions, with Iref stepping in only in limited circumstances.
The Premier League says that its plans do not seek to reduce the scope of the regulator or to make it an actor of last resort. It argues its submission was a normal part of an ongoing process, with the government saying in its consultation response that it will “continue to work with and engage industry and fan groups as these proposals develop”.
The timing of the proposal is understood to have disappointed people working on setting up the regulator, however, with the white paper having set broad parameters for the regulator in February. The government is committed to putting forward legislation “as soon as parliamentary time allows” and an announcement has been expected as part of the king’s speech on 7 November. An advertisement was recently placed to recruit a chief operating officer for Iref.
On Thursday the chief executive of the Football Association, Mark Bullingham, told an industry audience at the Leaders conference that he felt there was some way to go on defining the regulator’s role. “Where we’re getting to is really understanding what the government’s plans are,” he said. “The last draft of those plans I think lacked a bit of detail in some areas and we really want to see that detail.
“We do have a concern that it could potentially be too interventionist on healthy clubs, rather than being really laser-focused on helping the clubs that need it and that’s what we want to work with government [on] to make sure that … we’re providing that support where it’s required.”
