The Labour Party has dismissed reports the new Independent Football Regulator would force Newcastle United’s owners to sell up.
It comes after The Times revealed a proposal to ban state-controlled clubs from English football had been submitted in an amendment to the Football Governance Bill. The amendment, proposed by Labour Peer Lord Bassam of Brighton, seeks to block state-owned clubs from being granted an operating licence.
The amendment covers clubs “wholly or majority-owned by individuals, entities or entities controlled by individuals” who are deemed by the regulator to be “under the influence of any state actor”. This would include members of any government or their immediate family; a head of state or their immediate family; diplomats, lobbyists, or other state representatives, or their immediate family, and sovereign wealth funds.
