Richard Masters – CaughtOffside

Exclusive: “Disgusting” – Collymore slams the Premier League over race riot silence

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 08:43:02 +0000

Stan Collymore has never been backwards in coming forwards with an honest and forthright opinion, and on this occasion, he’s taken aim at the Premier League.

Though the race riots that have dogged the UK over the past week or so would appear to have nothing to do with football, there’s a school of thought which says that football hooligans could join in the troubles for their own ends.

Such a scenario would only add another level of chaos to an already unsavoury series of flashpoints across the country, and Collymore believes that the Premier League’s silence over the issue speaks volumes.

Collymore hits out at weak Premier League execs

“I think that the Premier League have a massive responsibility as a big British brand, and as a big British brand that’s inclusive with all creeds, all flavours and all genders, to comment on the current riots from a football perspective,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.

“After all, they can’t wait to tell you about No Room for Racism day.

“I would really have liked to see Richard Masters come out after last weekend and say “any supporter involved in these in this disorder, will never set foot in an English football stadium again,” and that would have done as much as potentially the deterrent effect of a six month or a 12 month custodial sentence for some of them.

“Frankly, I’m disgusted by the Premier League.If you remember, when players were getting racist abuse a while back, the Premier League were quick to tell everyone to put a the black square on their social media profiles and not tweet or post for 24 hours.

Stan Collymore has hit out at the Premier League

“The fact they’ve said nothing whatsoever during the current riots, I would suggest, is 1000 times worse. The fact that I genuinely feel like the only voice in the professional football sports broadcasting space that was willing to call it out, hour by hour, and to show people that there were good people in Walthamstow, in Birmingham, in Newcastle and elsewhere that weren’t going to allow this race baiting to happen… I think it’s frankly disgusting and disturbing.

“Football is multicultural, and not just the fan base.

“We’ve got Muslims, we’ve got Jews, we’ve got blacks, we’ve got whites, we’ve got French, we’ve got Germans, we’ve got Italians, we’ve got Egyptians… all playing in the Premier League.

“I get that a lot of players and clubs will be very reluctant to speak up because they don’t understand the politics, but for me, football needs to do much, much more.”

Collymore arguably has a point on more than one area.

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It’s all very well the Premier League paying lip service to certain campaigns when it suits them, but when they’re really needed to stand up and be counted, the lily-livered executives are nowhere to be seen.

The multicultural aspect of Premier League football can’t be overlooked either.

Those muslim players that are currently plying their trade in England’s top-flight must be looking on in absolute despair at what’s happening around the country at present, and will look to the governing body to take a stand and effectively guarantee their safety.

Time for the Premier League to wake up and smell the coffee.

The post Exclusive: “Disgusting” – Collymore slams the Premier League over race riot silence appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Pundit says Pep will leave before Man City charges are sorted

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 24 May 2024 10:49:50 +0000

Since Pep Guardiola joined Man City, he’s overseen an incredible period of consistent success.

Just like the time that the Catalan spent at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, most seasons have ended with a trophy or two.

With 115 charges hanging over them for apparent breaches in Financial Fair Play, however, it can’t be ignored that the Premier League outfit have seemingly pushed the boundaries in terms of winning at all costs.

Pep Guardiola could leave Man City at just the right time

Of course, the club remain innocent until proven guilty, and Guardiola is believed to have always maintained that he would walk out if he felt the club had lied to him over anything.

According to ex-West Ham striker turned pundit, Frank McAvennie, the current Man City boss is likely to have left before any of the charges are heard and punishments metered out anyway.

“It’s all different, stupid things just mounting up. That’s the 115 charges,” he said to Football Insider.

Man City display the five trophies they won in 2023

“Pep has got one year left on his contract and these charges won’t get dropped until he leaves, that’s for sure.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they won another league and then it’ll be in court.

“The lawyers will just keep burying it, burying it, burying it until the laws change. It’s unfortunate for the wee clubs that couldn’t do that, but Man City can.

“There’s no point moaning about it, you’ve just got to get on with it and not let it get to you.”

It’s an interesting take and does bring the sheer amount of charges against the Premier League champions front and centre.

The scale of any potential wrong doing means that it can’t just be a case of everything else being put on hold by the powers that be.

Each file needs to be pored over with a fine-toothed comb before any findings are delivered.

The issue that the Premier League are likely to find further down the line is even if they do find City guilty of some or all of the 115 charges, it’s abundantly clear that they will appeal any sanctions, and that too will take time.

In many respects, the fact that the Premier League allowed the situation to develop as it has is entirely their fault anyway.

Given the punishments that have already been handed out to Nottingham Forest and Everton were reasonably severed for one or two issues, the expectation will be that City are treated accordingly – another area where the Premier League will find themselves under considerable scrutiny.

The post Pundit says Pep will leave before Man City charges are sorted appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Collymore’s column: Premier League have bottled Man City decision, Moyes’ treatment a disgrace, Bellingham for Ballon d’Or and more

Stan Collymore — Fri, 17 May 2024 07:30:00 +0000

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including why Villa need to grab their UCL chance with both hands, the shambolic way David Moyes has been treated, why the Premier League have bottled it against Man City, plus much more.

Villa need to grab UCL with both hands next season

Purely as an ex-pro, I don’t buy into this ‘I’d rather play in the Europa League or the Conference League’ because that’s usually an excuse for clubs worried about taking more than baby steps. Eighteen months ago under Steven Gerrard Villa were heading towards relegation so European football is great, but make no mistake – the financial uplift, the global stage, the ability to be able to get better players, to tie down your better players – all of a sudden becomes it infinitely easier.

When you’re in the Champions League players don’t need to look around elsewhere. What’s the point unless they’re going to Manchester City who are virtually guaranteed to win a trophy? Why would players want to go to a Liverpool or a Man United? Some clubs can’t offer Champions League football next season and are in transition too.

Unai Emery, manager of Aston Villa

I think that it’s really important for Aston Villa to get into the Champions League and if we’re using this awful phrase of ‘branding and marketing,’ the club can reconnect with Asia, Australasia, the Americas, Europe etc. People will go ‘Aston Villa? I know them. That’s the club that Tom Hanks supports.’ It makes a massive difference.

Villa have got top four money in terms of the ownership but you can’t just go and blow half a billion pounds, which Villa would if they could. I’d like them to look around and buy three, four or five players that know what the Champions League is all about, but we’re not talking about 37/38 year olds like Thiago Silva et al.

I’m very comfortable with Monchi and his staff who have done a fantastic job, obviously, in terms of recruitment but they’re gonna have to go up a level now. If you get one chance as a club to get in the Champions League, take it and run with it. I’m very excited.

Shambolic the way West Ham have treated Moyes and Lopetegui is a disgrace

David Moyes had a pretty good run at West Ham, even if it’s been a real mixed bag at times. They’ve struggled in the Premier League but in Europe, they’ve been fantastic and winning the Conference League was a real high point. Do I believe that David Moyes’ time at West Ham is up? Yes, but the way in which West Ham have done it is absolutely shambolic.

All clubs talk to potential new managers behind the current incumbents back, that’s just a given, but in Lopetegui in particular, I think to myself are their better options out there and I think there probably are. The way that he walked out on Wolves was an absolute disgrace regardless of what promises he was made.

And that would raise a massive red flag for me because if he did well at West Ham then the likes of Liverpool and Man United came in for him down the road, because they’re teams that will have been in transition for years to come (maybe Chelsea as well), he would quite happily walk out on the Hammers as well. So I think their due diligence in terms of finding the right man has been appalling.

For me it’s really simple. I think that that West Ham need to have a long, hard look in the mirror and assess their conduct. David Moyes, for bringing the club their first trophy in over four decades and keeping them in Europe, should’ve been given a rousing send off. Club media doing an interview with him and asking about his experience with the club, what were his favourite moments and stuff like that. They did nothing. Not a dickie bird. He’s been dealt with very, very, very badly, particularly when you look at what other clubs do when a manager gets to the end of his tenure.

Jude Bellingham is nailed on for Ballon d’Or

I want the Ballon d’Or to be given on sporting merit, but it’s not. Or at least it hasn’t been for a while. I think we’ve got to a ridiculous situation where the Ballon d’Or has become a subjective decision given out because of the emotional attachment and which is always going to reward players that have been in the game for a long time. Think of the Oscars and a Lifetime Achievement Award… the Ballon d’Or should not be a Lifetime Achievement Award, it should be an ‘in the now’ achievement award.

It needs a reset after the Messi and Ronaldo years, and now we’ve got the luxury of having Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Vini Jr., Phil Foden, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham… a number of quality younger players that are playing for big clubs and are doing the business.

What Bellingham is doing really is arguably the greatest achievement by an English player abroad and I say that going all the way back to the likes of John Charles who had a massive impact on Juventus, Denis Law, Jimmy Greaves, Liam Brady, Steve McManaman, David Beckham…

Every week he’s been playing against the very best in the world and for a relative top-flight rookie to walk into that club with such confidence from day one is quite extraordinary. We’ve started to see him get forward that little bit more and score important goals, and he’s been the conduit for the rest of his team-mates at arguably the biggest club on the planet.

He’s not the finished article by any means but show me another player that’s had a bigger impact on their club in terms of making them a consistent threat at home and abroad. You can’t find one. So it absolutely makes sense for him to be Ballon d’Or, and to do it at a club that can swallow you up and spit you out… I don’t think anybody else comes close this year.

Slot will suffer from being the first after Klopp at Liverpool

Arne Slot can speak English in the dressing room – big tick. A coach in a Dutch league that’s far from vintage – big red cross.

Slot’s perspective will be to look at things and go ‘if I do half as well and keep these in the top four…’ and his ambition will likely be to win a League Cup or FA Cup and that’s it. Then in season two, he’ll look for Liverpool to be more competitive.

I think Liverpool Football Club have taken a pragmatic approach and decided that they’ll never get anyone like Jurgen Klopp and gone ‘let’s get somebody in that is at least competent and confident enough to be able to maintain the status quo and keep the club competitive.’

Arne Slot

Slot really believes he can do the job or else he wouldn’t say yes, but just like when Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United, David Moyes came in and everybody thought he’d do well. Moyes was very capable too but quickly realised that he couldn’t quite hit those high notes. I don’t think Slot will necessarily hit those high notes either. Why? Because it’s difficult following a Sir Alex, a Frank Sinatra, a Michael Jackson, a Muhammad Ali…

He’s going to be known in Liverpool history as the man that took over from Jurgen Klopp, a big, powerful and strong character and persona who had the personality, attachment and connection to the scousers that afforded him that ability to go the extra mile. It transcended just being the manager of the football club.

For me, honestly, Slot could go on and consolidate what Liverpool have, then once he has his feet properly under the table, he’ll need Michael Edwards to go and find two or three more signings like the Mane’s and the Salah’s of this world. Players in a decent price range but that won’t trouble the bank balance.

If that happens, he’s got a chance, but I just think that sometimes in football there are characters who are very difficult to follow.

Premier League to blame for not dealing with Man City charges

Apparently (Premier League chief) Richard Masters is going to the Arsenal game this weekend to avoid having to give the Premier League trophy to a club that’s got 115 charges against it.

The argument over the charges that we’ve had from Manchester City Supporters groups – who will undoubtedly have been briefed by the club – is that the charges are too serious and too hefty over a number of different domains, to be dealt with quickly. Okay, I can go with that. 115 charges, take some more time…

Manchester City display the five trophies they won in 2023

However, the fact is that no one expects a weekly digest from Richard Masters. I fail to see how the Premier League could not have taken one of Manchester City’s charges, perhaps the most serious and focused on that as the headline grabber, then just get to the other 114 as and when.

I believe that Premier League have got it wrong because they haven’t dealt with one single charge and you can’t honestly tell me it couldn’t have been done in the same timescale as Everton’s and Forest’s punishments.

They could’ve then said to people ‘this is the gravity of the club’s situation.’ Whether it would be a three point, six point or 10 point deduction, that would have had clear ramifications for this season’s title race.

It would then be a template for dealing with clubs in the future because I’m sure that other clubs will fall foul of FFP sooner or later. Villa aren’t far off, and Newcastle may not be far off either.

I don’t know what the outcome is gonna be because Manchester City’s lawyers are the best in the business, and when you have the best in the business you tend to get tangible results.

Remember that Everton and Forest could’ve gone down this season but haven’t because they still had enough in the tank despite the points reductions. The point is that they could have gone down – this season – because their cases were dealt with. Manchester City cannot not be champions of England if they’re found guilty, but they will be if results go as expected because the Premier League haven’t got their collective fingers out.

Richard Masters looks older every time he goes on TV and I think that the Premier League are under massive strain, dealing with a situation that has very significant complexities. I’ve got no confidence in them at all and therein lies the problem.

If the stuff around Roberto Mancini apparently being paid off the books is found to be the case, for example, that should be a demotion in itself. Every single player and manager is paid like any other employee in the business. If it’s proven that he was getting paid a contract worth £1m via PAYE and HMRC,, but was getting £8m sent to a business in Abu Dhabi… that should be worthy of significant sanction.

I think that’s what a lot of football fans feel is unfair and that’s when you get into all of this sort of conspiracy theory territory.

I know that clubs will try it on, so the Premier League need to fire a warning shot across clubs to flex their muscles and so everyone knows that they really do mean business.

The post Collymore’s column: Premier League have bottled Man City decision, Moyes’ treatment a disgrace, Bellingham for Ballon d’Or and more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

‘In the near future” – Premier League CEO Richard Masters hints at Man City hearing timeline

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 13:41:57 +0000

Premier League CEO, Richard Masters, was put right on the spot during a press conference that took place for the European Leagues, with one question going directly for the jugular regarding Man City’s outstanding 115 charges for alleged financial irregularities.

Sat alongside Pedro Proenca, President of the European Leagues & Liga Portugal, Jacco Swart, Managing Director of the European Leagues and Alberto Colombo, Deputy General Secretary of the European Leagues, Masters, to his credit, didn’t shirk the question.

Man City case to be resolve soon

“We can’t comment on the case as you know, but the date has been set and it will resolve itself in the near future,” he said to gathered and online media, including representatives from CaughtOffside.

It wasn’t the only difficult question that Masters and his colleagues were subject to either, as topics ranged from the amount of games having to be played to games being played abroad and government regulation.

“There is a growing pressure on the match calendar,” Jacco acknowledged when a comment concerning player welfare had to be addressed.

“UEFA have presented full details of the new international calendar and you will definitely see decisions that will be taken.

“There has to be a balance between international and domestic competitions.”

The case against Man City will be heard soon

Masters appeared to agree. “It’s getting to a tipping point,” he added.

“We’re proud to be different in England but if you pour more liquid into the cup that is already full, it will overflow.

“It stands to reason if you overload the calendar, something’s got to give.”

The idea of a government regulator in England is a topic that has been discussed before and the press wanted to understand what Masters et al thought FIFA and UEFA’s reaction would be.

“What happens in England is something that European Leagues won’t interfere in,” Jacco interjected.

“We see that domestic football markets all across Europe are under enormous pressure. We are in general agreement that governments have good intentions but regulation could be self-harming.

“Government would need to be wary of the quickly changing landscape of international club football.”

One of the more interesting questions related to multi club ownership and how European Leagues intended to stop supposed the supposed lesser leagues in European football becoming feeder leagues for the major leagues.

“The board of directors will take a decision on this big topic at a future meeting,” Proenca noted.

“It’s a complicated topic, and needs a growing conversation with UEFA as well as internally. It’s high on the priority list.”

The post ‘In the near future” – Premier League CEO Richard Masters hints at Man City hearing timeline appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Premier League issue terse response to CMS over Everton and Nottingham Forest sanctions

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 10:16:32 +0000

As the football world waits to see the outcome of the cases of Everton and Nottingham Forest after both apparently fell foul of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR’s), the CEO of the EPL, Richard Masters, has issued a tersely worded response to the government’s Culture, Media & Sport Committee.

There had been a previous suggestion by the committee that Masters had inferred that both Everton and Forest were not ‘big’ clubs, and in his response, the chief executive sought to clarify his earlier remarks.

‘First, you asked about whether a distinction is made between ‘big’ and ‘small’ Clubs within the Premier League. As you will recall, I was asked a question by a Committee Member who used the term “big Clubs” when arguing that there is cynicism about certain Clubs’ ability to use legal means to ensure that cases “take ten years or never come to fruition”,’ he replied via a letter addressed to Dame Caroline Dinenage, the Chair of the committee.

‘[…] As I said in my evidence, Everton and Nottingham Forest are valued and respected members of the Premier League. Both Clubs enjoy successful histories, have strong and passionate fanbases, and make a significant contribution not just to the Premier League’s vibrant competition, but also to their cities and local communities.

‘By reflecting the Committee Member’s framing of the question, I did not intend to suggest otherwise. It would be incorrect to infer from this that there is any unfair treatment based on Club size, as suggested in the Committee’s media statement.

‘Indeed, the point I made was the opposite, in that the Premier League Board applies the Rules consistently, irrespective of the Club in question.’

The main issue at hand for many appears to be how quickly both the Toffees and the Midlands-based side are being dealt with, considering that Premier League champions, Man City, have over 100 outstanding allegations against them but are months away from being questioned over their alleged malpractice.

‘You raise the issue of fairness and transparency in the recent Everton case and request certain confidential documents,’ Masters continued.

‘We respect the role of the Select Committee in holding Government to account and seeking insight from relevant industries on matters of public policy. We value the opportunity to provide such input and answer questions.

‘As the Committee will appreciate, being a private business, it is not our practice to provide or publish minutes of Premier League Board Meetings. Nor are we able to publish submissions the Premier League Board or Executive make as part of confidential legal proceedings.

‘However, I hope I can address the Committee’s questions as this is an important matter, and I am grateful for the opportunity to provide additional clarity further to my oral evidence to the Committee.

‘At all times during this process, the Premier League has sought to treat the Club fairly and with respect. Of course, as the competition organiser and administrator, it is also our role to ensure fairness for Clubs that have adhered to the Rules.

‘That means enforcing our Rulebook consistently and impartially.’

Any suggestion that the Commission overseeing any points deductions or other decisions was anything less than independent clearly irked Masters.

‘The Committee’s media statement suggests that this submission (from the Commission) somehow makes the Commission less than independent,’ he added.

‘As I explained to the Committee, the Judicial Panel, and the selected Commission that heard this case, are entirely independent of the League.

‘The Panel members are appointed by an Independent Chair in a process in which the League plays no part, and members of each Commission are appointed by that Chair independently, again in a process in which the League plays no part.

‘Each member of the independent Commission that heard this case was a senior and experienced lawyer or financial expert, including one former member of the judiciary.’

For the fans of both Premier League clubs, what happens next could determine whether they get to stay in the English top-flight or not.

The post Premier League issue terse response to CMS over Everton and Nottingham Forest sanctions appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Premier League chief responds to Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea sale + discusses broadcast contracts in Russia

Mark Brus — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 13:51:41 +0000

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has spoken out on Roman Abramovich’s decision to sell Chelsea amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The UK government are imposing sanctions on Russian companies and individuals at the moment in a bid to force the country’s hand after disturbing attacks in parts of Ukraine.

This means Abramovich now has little choice but to leave Chelsea, and one imagines a buyer will soon come in for one of the biggest football clubs in Europe, who have enjoyed tremendous success since the wealthy Russian bought them in 2003.

Speaking today, as quoted by the Telegraph’s Ben Rumsby in the thread below, Masters says he feels it’s the right decision by Abramovich to put the Blues up for sale, whilst adding that the Premier League were reviewing broadcasting contracts in Russia…

Masters says Abramovich has made “the right decision” to sell Chelsea. Kind of expected him to sit on the fence…

— Ben Rumsby (@ben_rumsby) March 3, 2022

Keith Hackett column: Mike Riley must be moved on for the good of the English game at the elite level

Keith Hackett — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 08:41:31 +0000

The recent European Championship exposed and underpinned what I have been stating for several years now. That the standard of officiating in England is in decline.

There has been an over reliance on five referees who have delivered performances at an acceptable level: Martin Atkinson, Mike Dean, Michael Oliver, Anthony Taylor and the improving Stuart Attwell.

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The man in charge of the PGMOL and the Board of Directors are responsible for overseeing and allowing the decline to happen.

This is due in my opinion to a lack of accountability and a Board that butterfly their roles, rather than taking a closer look on what is happening.

The Board have not been slow at throwing substantial amounts of money in an effort to buy success. I operated with a budget of £5million when in charge, and that has increased to a figure in excess of £22million.

Anthony Taylor had a brilliant European Championship

Lee Mason, a consistently poor decision maker, has been shuffled out of the coal face role in the middle to a role at Stockley Park.

Mike Riley, Managing Director of the PGMOL, early into his tenure in office dispensed with the services of a group of very experienced team of referee coaches.

The likes of Paul Durkin, Roger Dilkes, Tom Bune, Jeremy Simpson and others, who were coaching/mentoring/advising and supporting the active referees, were cast aside.

Former referees who were operating in the role of Assessors/Observers were binned, and with it came the loss of a huge mosaic of referee experience.

Leagues around the world operating with Referee Assessors/Observers see the value in this role, and Riley, who dispensed with their services and binned them, is only too happy to go to grounds around Europe operating in that role for UEFA.

I would put Riley in the category of a control freak, not willing to accept advice and surrounding himself with “yes” people.

Mike Riley is now head of PGMOL but is resistant to any sort of change

Sad, because active officials can be a great source of ‘coal face’ information. Top quality referee coaches can ensure that there is a continuous development of match officials at Football League level and in leagues outside the professional game.

Scouting and monitoring the future pool of match officials who can advance and provide a good resource for the PGMOL.

‘Light touch’ Premier League?

Premier League and Football League clubs having witnessed how referees performed at the Euros are now anticipating much the same from the PGMOL.

In fact, it was reported in the media that certain Premier League clubs have approached the EPL boss, Richard Masters, wanting the ‘light touch’ operated by Roberto Rossetti to operate from day one of the new season.

Former Premier League and FIFA referee Keith Hackett is a columnist for CaughtOffside.com

Clubs want those broader lines when VAR is determining offside decisions. They want, fans want, we all want VAR to operate in the same way that it operated in the Euros.

VAR intervention must be to the same standard and only come in on ‘CLEAR and OBVIOUS errors.’

Let us recognise that players behaviour and general respect to each other on the field of play was of a good standard too.

Four new referees have been introduced into SG1 (Select Group 1, Premier League) making a panel of twenty-two referees, and Oliver and Taylor recently delivered a talk on how they were managed, guided and advised by Rossetti.

They were clearly allowed to use their personality and their top management skills, under the banner of the ‘light touch,’ rather than being forced to jump in with yellow cards, brandishing them like confetti.

Rossetti outlined that they were accountable and he expected top class performances. If referees did not deliver top performances, they were on the plane home.

So will we see any change? I have my doubts because Riley is not one for change.

Indeed, if we do not see any change at all, then Riley must be moved on for the good of the English game at the elite level.

The post Keith Hackett column: Mike Riley must be moved on for the good of the English game at the elite level appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Big Six furious after Premier League chief ignores pleas for return of game-changing rule

Jamie Wilkinson — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 07:43:08 +0000

The Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters has poked the ‘Big Six’ bear by refusing to push for a change back to five substitutes.

As reported by Sky Sports on Monday, both Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola had pleaded with the league to reintroduce the five-substitute rule which was in force after the restart.

Their belief is that it offers no advantage to big clubs, rather is a means of protecting players from injury during a season more congested than ever in terms of fixture scheduling.

MORE: Micah Richards snubs Chelsea and Leicester as he names three teams who can win the title

However, as The Sun report, Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters has refused to back them.

“There is an argument that five substitutes changes the competitive balance of a football match.

“We’ve had two votes on it at club level and both have been conclusively supportive of returning to three subs.”

“I don’t see that changing for the foreseeable future. It’s been voted on twice.”

Premier League chief calls for government to reconsider decision on fans at games

Mark Brus — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 05:40:02 +0000

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has issued a plea to the government to reconsider their recent decision on delaying the return of football fans to stadiums.

The coronavirus pandemic saw football suspended back in March, and though it was able to resume in the summer, games have been played behind closed doors and look likely to continue this way for at least a few more months.

However, some European leagues have been able to allow spectators in, albeit not at full capacity, to allow for social distancing between supporters present.

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Of course, some countries have the pandemic under better control than the UK has at the moment, which makes a big difference, but Masters says there is surely a way to make the return of fans possible as long as it’s done safely.

In fairness, it does seem strange that people can continue to crowd into packed indoor settings like pubs, restaurants and public transport, when a spacious outdoor setting like a football stadium could in theory be a lot safer.

Masters hopes the government can do more to help football as he feels they’ve made more of an effort with other industries.

“It’s good news that [concert] venues can run socially-distanced events indoors, it gives them a lifeline. We are starting to see the return of the paying spectator at a ticketed event and we just believe that football should be allowed to do the same,” Masters told the Times.

“We do understand why caution is needed but what we are asking for is consistency from government so that sport is treated as fairly as other activities.

“We are a highly regulated environment. We have the Sports Grounds Safety Authority in place to ensure that supporters are safe at all times and we’re outdoors in a highly stewarded environment. What we really need is clarity for our clubs and supporters and a road map from government.

“There’s a frustration that there is that inconsistency and we would urge the government to treat sport in the same way as the entertainment industry.

“The clubs feel they have been hit with a quadruple whammy — firstly that the optimism of October 1 has been taken away; secondly that there will be a sports bailout but that it wouldn’t include football; thirdly that the Premier League will be expected to secure the future of the EFL while dealing with the implications of having no fans until possibly March; finally the opening up of entertainment arenas within sometimes a couple of miles of football grounds without any road map for the return of football supporters.

Video: Premier League chief ‘as confident as we can be’ on June return, but curtailment ‘still a possibility’

Ron Carne — Sat, 23 May 2020 07:24:40 +0000

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has revealed that they are ‘as confident as we can be’ over restarting the current campaign in June.

As clubs welcomed players back to their respective training grounds this week, early results revealed that there were six positive coronavirus tests across three clubs in over 700 tests.

With measures still in place to battle the pandemic and to keep players safe, there are still concerns as N’Golo Kante will resume training away from the rest of the Chelsea squad while Troy Deeney publicly revealed that he wouldn’t return to training over health concerns for his son with Watford reporting some of those positive cases.

The Premier League has been suspended since March 13, but as they gradually move towards getting the season back underway with June 12 touted as a possible restart date, Masters has now confirmed that there is confidence that the campaign will be able to resume next month.

“I think we’re as confident as we can be. There is some momentum. We’ve taken the first step,” Masters told BBC Sport.

“It’s great for everybody, including the fans, to see our players back on the training ground.”

Masters added that they will have to be flexible with that resumption date as it depends on the progression of contact training, while he also stressed that they shouldn’t ‘underestimate’ the financial concerns involved in the situation but dismissed suggestions that wealth is being prioritised over health.

Further, he acknowledged concerns from some players but insists that they’ve done everything they can to make it safe for them and their families to protect them and to allow them to return to training, while he revealed that they’re working to get all 92 remaining games televised and perhaps through different distribution avenues while suggesting fans could be back at stadiums next season.

However, as seen in the video below, Masters did concede that curtailment is still a possibility as ultimately they will be guided by the government and their actions moving forward as the UK looks to move out of the lockdown and begins to start easing some of the restrictions and measures currently in place in the coming weeks and months.

Asked Premier League chief Richard Masters here if he understands why some clubs worse affected by positive Covid-19 tests – or players refusing to train – may argue relegation should be scrapped, especially those in danger of the drop.
Says “curtailment” will be discussed. pic.twitter.com/3FRJ9VV5nh

— Dan Roan (@danroan) May 23, 2020

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