Government Plans To Give Soccer Back To Fans
Hate Hate Hate
England’s government is going to unveil radical proposals that would give soccer fans first option to buy their clubs when they were put up for sale and require clubs to hand over a stake of up to 25% to supporters’ groups. A way to give fans a far greater say in how their soccer clubs are run and overhaul the way the game is governed.
The plans include:
- • Requiring clubs to hand a stake of up to 25% to fans in recognition of their links with their local community.
- • Implementing a change-of-control clause that would allow fans a window to put together a takeover of their club if it was up for sale or went into administration.
- • Giving the soccer authorities a deadline to reform the FA and remove “vested interests” from the board, and streamline decision making.
- • Introducing a unified system of governance that co-ordinates issues such as club ownership and youth development.
- • Allowing professional leagues and the FA additional oversight of club takeovers.
Portsmouth’s financial collapse, the outpouring of anger in response to the leveraged buyouts at Manchester United and Liverpool that loaded the clubs with combined debts of more than $1 billion, and last week’s shock resignation of the FA chief executive, Ian Watmore, in protest at the “vested interests” on the board are all understood to have persuaded the prime minister to act.
The government could, however, face legal challenges from existing owners over the dilution of their shares. It has echoes of the model proposed by the so-called Red Knights attempting to buy Manchester United. Wealthy fans will contribute 74.9% of the overall purchase price, but supporters will hold a “golden share” of just over 25%, giving them a blocking stake on any change of ownership and an influential boardroom voice.
While the government will reiterate that it has no desire to regulate soccer directly, the prime minister believes the democratisation of soccer club ownership taps into wider themes about the “mutualisation” of public services and the need for regulatory reform.
This could put some wrinkles in Diddy’s plan to buy the Crystal Palace while some Dallas Cowboys fans seriously wish this was an option for them.
Manchester United Ban Players From Speaking On Anti-Glazer Movement
Solidarity
Manchester United is so concerned about the increasing rise of the green-and-gold protests that the club have effectively forbidden Sir Alex Ferguson’s players from speaking about it publicly and imposed a series of other measures aimed at counteracting the kind of publicity generated by David Beckham’s endorsement of the campaign.
Beckham’s parting statement after United’s 4-0 defeat of Milan on Wednesday, leaving the pitch with a protest scarf around his neck, is being described as “an iconic moment” by the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), and senior figures at Old Trafford are worried about the significance of the most famous sportsman on the planet attaching himself to a movement aimed at deposing the ruling Glazer family.
In response the club have already:
- Banned players from discussing the campaign in the media.
- Forbidden the in-house TV station, MUTV, from referring to the rebellion and edited questions about it from broadcasts of Ferguson’s press conferences.
- Ejected a supporter from the audience of an MUTV show after he refused to remove a green-and-gold scarf.
- Sacked a steward after 19 years’ service for attempting to return a confiscated anti-Glazer banner to its owners.
The club has reluctantly accepted the protests will continue for as long as the Glazers are in power. The initial hope inside the Old Trafford boardroom was that the protests would eventually fade out but the club’s attempts to quell the uprising have been unsuccessful. Protests were so widespread during the Milan game that security had to abandon its usual policy of trying to remove the many banners criticizing the Glazers.
Beckham produced the perfect publicity coup for the organization MUST as their membership has now passed 130,000 and has set up an appointment with the Japanese investment bank Nomura to advise the alliance of wealthy United followers who are planning a takeover bid.
David Beckham Joins Fans In Protest Of Glazer Ownership
Solidarity
David Beckham joined in the campaign to oust the Glazer family from Manchester United ownership when he left the pitch wearing the green and gold scarves that have come to symbolize the fans protests against the club’s owners.
Fans have traded in their red and white scarves for yellow and green, signifying the original colors of the franchise and sending a clear message to the Glazers that running this once-rich franchise into immense financial debt is not acceptable.
It marked Beckham’s first trip back to Old Trafford since leaving Manchester United in 2003, and after mockingly booing the former United captain, the crowd gave him a rousing salute. After the stirring reception Beckham picked up the scarf after it was thrown from the Stretford End on a night when Malcolm Glazer’s sons, Joel and Avram, were inside the stadium to witness the scale of antipathy towards their ownership of the club.
Beckham’s act of public sympathy and solidarity overshadowed two more goals from Wayne Rooney, brings his total to 30, in his pursuit of emulating Cristiano Ronaldo’s total of 42 last season. Rooney’s now has 21 goals in his last 21 games.
