Contributions
1,131 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)Q I want particularly to look at clause 55(2)(b), which you are probably all very familiar with. Could I ask for your view on that provision—the removal from the regulator’s…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (Second sitting)Q You have described your situation at Cambridge, with an owner who is philanthropically putting a lot of money into your club. Where does a club go to if that suddenly stops? Ian…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)Q Do you think parachute payments, as they currently exist, cause problems or provide solutions? Kieran Maguire: I think they do both. The intention of parachute payments when…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)Fair enough.14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)Q Using your own words then, do you think it is right that that clumsy solution should be written into the Bill as a no-go area, which cannot be looked at by the regulator as part…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (Second sitting)Q Some might argue that the regulator is there to put backstop powers in place in general to try and stop that unsustainability of clubs going bust, when fans then have no team to…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)Q We had a very detailed submission from the EFL, explaining your understanding of the current distribution of media money within the EFL and the Premier League and what the…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)Q So that is it? So you do not want to see any changes? Richard Masters: It is a perfectly legitimate debate to be had—is the funding of football correct? That should be reviewed…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (Second sitting)Q It seems that both of you are arguing from a completely self-interested point of view. You are saying that, “It is terrible in the Premier League because the few at the top are…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)Q So it is not the case that the regulator should be able to come in earlier? Dr Philippou: I think a lot of the parts of the Bill that look to fix issues relating to the…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)Q I expect the EFL has a different view? Rick Parry: Yes. First of all, we think that the way the clause is drafted is intellectually incoherent because it says that parachutes…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)Q We are told that the regulator will still have some powers over parachute payments. Do you understand what they are and how they might work? Kieran Maguire: One would imagine…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (Second sitting)Q Is it not true that the Premier League actually has more money than any two other European leagues put together? Steve Parish: I have put more money into my club in the Premier…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)This is about the backstop—14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (Second sitting)Q I want to focus on the point you just made. Obviously, Bolton had a terribly difficult time. If this Bill had been passed five or six years ago, would it have stopped Bolton…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (Second sitting)Q Are you frustrated at the FA that, somehow, this great competition and its heritage are being undermined by the interests of a handful of clubs who are going to play European…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (Second sitting)Q I have a couple of issues to put to both of you. You have said that everything works well. I think most people would be in disbelief at hearing that statement, because we all…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)The EFL have given us their understanding of the current distribution of funding within the Premier League and the EFL, particularly around media funding, and what sort of changes…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)Q On the regulator’s powers, is it unusual to have a regulator that cannot decide to intervene until you have gone through a process, and will step in and do anything only after…14 May 2024HANSARDFootball Governance Bill (First sitting)I am chair of the all-party parliamentary group on football. I do not think it necessary to declare, but at least it is there on the record in case anyone wants to know that.14 May 2024