Premier League warns Liverpool and Everton over huge FFP change in response to Man City charges

Premier League warns Liverpool and Everton over huge FFP change in response to Man City charges

Premier League chief Richard Masters has opened up about a proposed independent regulator, which could be approved this summer.

Premier League chief Richard Masters. (Image: Sky Sports )

Premier League CEO Richard Masters reckons there's every chance that an independent football regulator will be installed this summer, despite his concerns about its implementation. A government bill on the notion is currently being passed through Parliament and could ultimately be approved this year.

It would mean Liverpool and all other clubs in the English pyramid would be monitored by a watchdog regarding finances, ownership and other structural matters. The Premier League is painted as being opposed to the regulator, given the inevitable loss of ultimate power that will result from it.

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Masters has argued that current regulation framework put in place by the Premier League "really works'" The top-flight has come into conflict with several of its present and former member clubs over the last 12 months.

Everton saw their initial 10-point deduction for financial breaches last season reduced to six upon appeal, while Leicester City also successfully overturned the division's attempts to impose sanctions on them while still in the Championship.

Then this summer, a commission found Manchester City were right in claiming that part of the Premier League's Associated Party Transaction (APT) regulations were 'unlawful'. That said, it also underlined that there was indeed a requirement for such laws to be in place.

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Overarching all that, of course, are the high-profile finances charges against City which were first levelled at them in February 2023. The club strongly denies all allegations, which tally more than 100.

An initial verdict is expected in the early stages of 2025, though it seems probable that either party launches an appeal depending on the outcome. Chiefs would argue that a win for the Premier League would show it can self-govern.

However, a loss would perhaps infer the opposite and draw more backing for an independent regulator. Masters has admitted he's powerless to stop the regulator coming down the tracks.

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Speaking to Sky Sports via 'The Boardroom' podcast, he said: "There's a process for the [regulator] bill to become law... I don't think that it would be wise for me to predict that the bill isn't going to see its way through to fruition at some point in the summer, and then the regulator will be established."

Man City are still facing up to 100-plus FFP charges from the Premier League. (Image: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images )

Some critics have suggested that the Premier League's timing of the levelling of charges against City was not coincidental. Just weeks after the financial allegations were made, a government white paper - essentially a proposal document - was published.

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It had been speculated that the Premier League was trying to show that it could self-regulate, something Masters told the podcast he believes the League is doing well. "Football clubs are already regulated - we are the regulator," he added.

"If you have a third party coming in from the side - and then regulating a part of the system financially by being to look at clubs' business plans and potentially constrain their ability to invest - that worries us. We have always been pro-investment within measured risks.

"The Premier League is not a pension fund. It's a place where capital is put at risk.

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"So we do worry that a new regulatory function might be risk averse and might inhibit clubs' ability to invest, and the ability to invest is key to competitive imbalance. A new regulator could change that investment environment and we don't want that to happen because we think we have a virtuous circle which really works - we don't want that to change."

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