Posted on 12th August 2008
This is a story from the FSF archive – the FSF and SD merged to become the FSA in 2019.
The Football Supporters’ Federation is calling on the Premier League to clarify the current position regarding its Fit and Proper Persons Test for potential owners of Premier League clubs.
“A motion passed at the FSF’s Fans’ Parliament has already called on the government to safeguard football clubs’ role as part of our country’s cultural heritage – and the time has come for the game’s authorities to show their hand.”
Recent developments at Manchester City have brought this thorny issue into sharp focus, and FA Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore has stated:
“If we feel the rule has been breached we will invoke it. We will not turn a blind eye to issues of a serious nature. As always, we will take advice from the Home Office and the Foreign Office. We are not experts in law in every country, so it is wise to speak with the people who are.”
But supporters want to know what rules currently apply, and what sanctions are available to the Premier League? There must be clarity on how much backing the Premier League would actually receive from government if it invoked punishment.
FSF Deputy Chair, Jon Keen, said:
“At the present time it is not clear to us what powers the Premier League has, can it force owners who have transgressed its rules to sell up?
“That a situation like this has unfolded at Manchester City clearly indicates current rules and guidelines in place regarding Fit and Proper Persons Tests aren’t doing the job they were supposedly designed to do. The whole situation is in need of urgent review.
By the looks of this clip from Argeș vs Mioveni this week, supporters in Romania’s Liga I are enjoying the best of what the game has to offer, including some eagle eyed refereeing. The man in the middle correctly ruled out what would have been one of the most tragi-comic own goals we’ve ever seen.
On Wednesday 8th December the Government announced its intention to move to “Plan B” in response to the Omicron variant. This means fans will need a “vaccine passport” or negative test in order to access large sporting events.
The FA has said it will be introducing new rules to protect the heritage of football clubs in the men’s and women’s game.
It’s not often that the international break provides one of the biggest moments in a Premier League season, but last Friday’s news that Everton were going to be docked 10 points for a breach of the profitability and sustainability rules looks set to be the story of the season.
