Government to introduce independent football regulator!

[GBruno]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/61211255

It's actually happening. Don't know how much impact it will have.

Personally I want the government to stay well away from football. It's doing just fine thank you. (I'd hold the same view if Ashley was still in charge)

Apart from the government having no right to get involved in private businesses like this, their track record for improving or reforming anything is abysmal.

It's uncessary too. Fans have always had a lot of power at football clubs. Not happy with your club? Stop attending games, stage a protest of some kind. Support another club. Not happy with the premier league? stop subscribing to Sky Sports etc.

Nothing good will come of this in my opinion. It may even put the Premier league at a disadvantage compared to other leagues in other countries. Diversity quotas in boardrooms? How does this benefit fans? No thanks. I just want the best people for the job. Don't care about any other criteria.

Who do you want running Newcastle United right now? The current owners, or the fans?

I hated the way Ashley ran the club, but he had every right to do it his way. I'm really not sure what gives us fans any entitlement to a say in anything involving the running of the club, We voluntarily part with our cash to watch a game or buy some merch. But that's the entirity of the deal no more, no less.

This decision from the government has nothing to do with improving the sport or giving the fans a say. It's purely poltiical.

I didn't mean to write this much, but this kind of thing really winds me up.

What do you guys reckon to it?

[Zippity]

Good post, man.

I think it all depends how independent the regulator is and what their remit is.

If they're genuinely interested in giving the fans a voice then things like ticket-pricing, ridiculous fixture demands (Brighton away on a Monday night-type thing), fan welfare-things that affect us directly-should be high on their agenda.

I also think that the owners and directors test needs an overhaul to stop absolute chancers coming in and ruining clubs because they're incompetent.

Mind, I'm very glad our takeover is done as I suspect the 'independent' bit isn't as independent as it should be and, in part, this new body is driven by a different agenda. I'd say there's every chance this new body wouldn't have allowed the takeover to go through.

[ex_pat_magpie]

Yes if that does happen then we might have just got in and got rid of Ashley in the nick of time.

[trinitoon]

Doesn't corrupt FIFAKE prohibit government meddling in the game?

Hopefully this regulator is a large enough committee that there is a chance of neutrality.

Find it hard to believe that it won't be staffed by a person or persons that support the big 4-5 clubs...

[toptoon]

It’s hard to comment on this without knowing the details. My biggest complaint is the massive amount of money in the game. The huge salaries are immoral when you consider the amount of poverty there is in the world. If the top player’s salaries were all halved, they wouldn’t feel much difference and it wouldn’t change the game at all.