Premier League braced for seismic change as rule breach investigations head toward resolution

Chief executive Richard Masters hopes the regulatory disputes, such as with Manchester City, will not ‘normalise asterisks on the league table’

Premier League CEO Richard Masters says he wants football on the pitch to do the talking (Getty)

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says they “don’t want to normalise asterisks on the league table” as the competition faces up to a potentially critical season over its regulatory future. With the Manchester City case expected to finally have an outcome by April, that potentially seismic decision hangs over the entirety of the new season, which is due to start on Friday. Masters kept his stance of refusing to discuss any element of it, other than to say “of course we contemplate at its conclusion what might happen and we think about that a lot”.

City insist on their innocence. While that outcome could nevertheless change the face of football, it is only the biggest of many regulatory issues. Chelsea are under investigation for alleged historical rule-breaking under Roman Abramovich, with Masters stating that process is now “reaching a ‘conclusionary’ phase”. Newly-promoted Leicester City have similarly been charged for alleged breaches of profit and sustainability rules, with Everton also facing up to a third points deduction in a year after reports of more financial breaches being discovered. Such situations could yet leave a table that is filled with asterisks, as the Premier League at the same time “shadows” changes to the regulations that are set to come into force in 2025-26.

That will eventually mean clubs have to meet a year-on-year squad cost ratio of 70 per cent, and the optimistic stance within the Premier League is that all of the current issues are just a temporary adaptation to changed circumstances, where the regulatory framework merely requires updating. Masters did state “the economic shadow of Covid is still with us”.

“We always want the football to do the talking and obviously we don’t want to normalise asterisks on the league table or long-running regulatory disputes,” Masters said. “We want this to be temporary, not permanent. We have to lean into these challenges and resolve them and get to the end of the season and have a clearer picture.”

Manchester City are under investigation over 115 possible breaches of Premier League rules (PA)

Much of that may be dependent on the attitude of the clubs themselves. Masters insisted there is “a collective spirit within the Premier League that still exists” but at the same time stated “they’re competing with each other all the time and everyone is trying to find an angle”. He rejected the idea that translates to clubs trying to exploit loopholes within the regulations.

“It is a competition, right? So it’s set up for people to compete with each other and clubs compete with each other on the pitch, off the pitch, in sponsorship markets for new investment. They’re competing with each other all the time and everyone is trying to find an angle, whether it be signing a player, finding a way to be better in the Premier League and I think that is a great thing.”

Despite the need to update the financial regulations, Masters denied club unrest. He said the main reason they are evolving regulation is to match Uefa’s own changes.

“I’m not sure there is widespread discontent about the rules. The reason we are contemplating change is because where it started from is alignment with Uefa. Obviously what has changed is that some clubs have breached those rules and that has brought forward an examination of the financial system externally and put it under a lot of scrutiny. I accept it’s created frustration and a lack of clarity at times, but we have to do our jobs and the way the system works is that when we believe a breach has taken place, we obviously publicly announce that, then it’s heard by an independent panel, they’re in charge of the timing of that process.”

Everton face another points deduction over financial breaches (PA)

Masters denied that there was concern from partners about the image of the Premier League over so many issues, and he did point to how 50 per cent of all broadcasting money spent on the five major leagues is spent on England’s top tier.

“All I can say is to come back to one of my key themes, which is letting the football do the talking. The strengths of the competition in all of our discussions, whether it be with sponsors and commercial partners or with broadcasters, they’re extremely happy with the intensity of the competition. Its engagement with their fans and their customers. So it hasn’t been an issue.”

Masters similarly repeated the argument that there are no concerns about City potentially winning a seventh title in eight years, so long as there is a compelling title race. He finally reiterated the point that there are “no plans for matches abroad” despite that emerging as one of the surprising themes of the summer.

“It has never been discussed at the shareholders meeting since the 39th game for those of you who remember it and I certainly do and of course I think if any change in the structure of the competition that is material, fans should be consulted but I don’t think it’s going to happen. It’s not part of the plans. So to that extent I think it’s a slightly moot point.”