Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville speaks during the Carabao Cup Final match between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium on February 26, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Gary Neville has accused the Premier League of acting like “thugs” over the potential introduction of an independent football regulator.
The Football Governance Bill introduced in March by the Conservatives and now being pushed by Labor includes the establishment of an independent football regulator.
Calls for independent football regulation gained momentum in the wake of the Super League scandal at the start of 2021 and now the government says it is “protecting football clubs” by “ensuring their financial sustainability”.
If the bill passes parliament, it will give a regulator “safeguard powers” to intervene in football matters when necessary.
Neville accuses Premier League of ‘bullying’ behaviour.
Neville has been one of the most vocal advocates for an independent football regulator since the Super League attempt more than three years ago.
The Premier League has been far more skeptical of the idea, with chief executive Richard Masters calling it a “risk”.
There have been rumors that Premier League clubs could be banned from Uefa competitions due to the organisation’s policy against state interference.
Speaking at the Labor Party conference, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy insisted the government would not take a “hard-line” approach to regulating football and rejected the idea of English clubs being kicked out of the European competition as “ridiculous”.
Neville, meanwhile, has accused the Premier League of “bullying” behavior in his battle against the introduction of a regulator.
“We’ve got a Premier League that’s entitled, they feel entitled. I won’t use the word greedy, but I just did,” the former Man Utd right-back told the Labor Party conference (via Leicester Mercury).
“They are selfish and I cannot understand this way of thinking. It’s almost like they’re the big brother sitting there and handing out bits of food to the younger siblings around the table.
“It’s not what you do when you’re in a family. Their mentality is that of a bully. Their mentality is that they think they can influence the regulator once the regulator is in and they can potentially get a better deal on the other side of the regulator. And what they’re applying is their soft power and their influence to try to create scare stories, like we had a couple of weeks ago.”
Top photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images
