Gary Neville accuses ‘bully’ Premier League of ‘scaremongering’ over regulator

Gary Neville has accused the Premier League of acting like a “bully” and “scaremongering” about the proposed independent football regulator.

The former Manchester United and England star, who has been a strong supporter of an independent regulator, criticised the attitude of England’s top football league as “entitled” and “selfish” during a fringe event at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

Mr Neville said on Monday: “We have a Premier League that’s entitled, they feel entitled.

“I’m not going to use the word greedy, but I just have. They are selfish and I can’t understand that way of thinking.

“It’s almost like they’re the big brother that sit there and distribute scraps of food to the little brothers round the table. It’s not what you do when you’re in a family.”

His comments follow claims that English teams could be barred from European competitions such as the Champions League if the new regulator is introduced, due to Uefa rules against state involvement in football governance.

The Government has dismissed concerns, stressing that the regulator would be independent and saying it did not expect there to be issues regarding European competitions.

He added: “Their mindset is such of a bully. Their mindset is such that they think they can influence the regulator once the regulator’s introduced and they can get a better deal potentially the other side of the regulator.

“And what they’re applying is their soft power and their influence to try and create scare stories and scaremongering, like we had a couple of weeks ago.”

At the same fringe meeting, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy said claims English teams could be disqualified from Europe were “ridiculous” and “really disrespectful to fans because it caused a lot of alarm which was really unnecessary”.

Ms Nandy stressed the Government’s desire not to be “heavy handed” and to ensure the Premier League continued to succeed, but said ministers also wanted to “deal with the lack of sustainability in other parts of the pyramid”.

Premier League sources rejected Mr Neville’s claims that the organisation was acting like a “bully”, and insisted it continued to engage with the Government on plans for a new football regulator, pushing for a light-touch, targeted approach.

The Bill legislating for the new regulator is expected to be introduced to Parliament in the coming weeks, and Ms Nandy indicated the Government would be open to “non-controversial amendments” that helped put fans at the heart of the game.

The proposal for an independent regulator followed the fan-led review of football governance chaired by former Conservative minister Dame Tracey Crouch and has cross-party support with the last government introducing legislation shortly before the General Election.

Some opposition MPs have questioned whether Sir Keir Starmer’s acceptance of free tickets to football matches, including from the Premier League, could be a potential conflict of interest.

Asked if the Prime Minister should recuse himself of involvement with the proposed regulator, a Downing Street spokeswoman said there was a “usual process for declarations and receiving such advice”.

She said: “I’m not going to get into individuals or the details of (what) that advice is and (it) should always be heeded.

“But I don’t think that being a football fan should necessarily preclude people from carrying out their work.”