Member

My worry is that, if we do not resist politicisation and we do not protect autonomy, then we will very quickly find that decisions taken by the regulator about an individual club will immediately be the subject of questions to the footballers in that club about whether they believe that the regulator was right to intervene because there was concern about the behaviour of any of the owners or directors of the club. This is such a critically important issue. Unless we get this right, unless we pause to reflect seriously on ensuring that we respect the autonomy of those organisations that run sport—the Premier League and the EFL nationally and FIFA and UEFA internationally—we risk in the future jeopardising the ability of our sports men and women, in this case our footballers, to play in those international games.