Independent Football Regulator chief sends stark warning to Premier League clubs with Sheffield Wednesday example
David Kogan - the head of the IFR - has warned about the dangers of other clubs following in Sheffield Wednesday’s footsteps.
The head of the new Independent Football Regulator [IFR], David Kogan, has said Premier League clubs are condemning the English Football League [EFL] to a “near death sentence”, admitting more clubs are in danger of experiencing the same financial troubles as Sheffield Wednesday.
The IFR has been established to protect and promote the sustainability of English football, for the fans and the local communities that football club serves, and it was introduced last year to protect clubs against rogue owners.
From May, prospective football club owners, directors and senior executives will have to be vetted by the IFR, passing their Owners, Directors and Senior Executives (ODSE) test. It means any prospective buyer at Hillsborough will have to be vetted by the IFR if a takeover is not finalised by the aforementioned juncture.
MORE: Sheffield Wednesday are in a race against time to get takeover finalised - but it must be right
The Owls, of course, are still on the hunt for a new owner after the collapse of the James Bord-led consortium’s bid on Wednesday. They withdrew from the process exactly nine weeks after being granted ‘preferred bidder’ status.
Wednesday have often been used as an example of the sort of cases the IFR may have to get their hands on in the future following the failures of former owner Dejphon Chansiri, who relinquished his control of the club back in October, putting the club into administration.
With more clubs outside the Premier League in danger of following in Wednesday’s footsteps, Kogan has highlighted the importance of the Premier League and the EFL reaching an agreement for Premier League clubs to offer a bigger percentage of their broadcast revenue to clubs lower down the pyramid.
Premier League clubs currently pay 16 per cent of their TV broadcast revenues to the pyramid, with the EFL pushing for 25 per cent and the end of parachute payments.
IFR chief uses Owls as an example
Kogan, as quoted by the Mirror, said: “If you want an example of why we exist, well, it's only got to look at the situation in the last 24 hours at Sheffield Wednesday. This is one of the largest, most prestigious names in English football, one of the founders of English football, one of the founders of the Premier League, that has spent the last two or three years in absolute chaos, including yesterday.
“We have real powers to intervene if football cannot reach agreement, the so-called backstop clause. It would be an utter failure by football not to seize the moment and get over the stasis that currently exists.
“A deal done in 2019, which is the last time a deal was done, that simply relies rolling over year by year to no one's satisfaction, is not sensible practice and it will lead to unsustainable levels of pressure within the system.
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“It's to everyone's benefit for football to try and reach this understanding. My message is that the pyramid needs to survive as it exists today. And to do that, English football must come together and end this uncertainty. And it needs to do it now.
“But if the leagues can't find a new deal, those powers will be enacted. And we will be looking at things such as the current mechanism for parachute payments, the cliff edges and the other features of the existing deal.
“Clearly this has been an ongoing issue between the Premier League and the EFL for the last few years. Parachute payments are not an unknown topic, and the level of fiscal imbalance that they may or may not create is an issue that clearly we're going to have to address.”