Premier League CEO, Richard Masters, was put right on the spot during a press conference that took place for the European Leagues, with one question going directly for the jugular regarding Man City’s outstanding 115 charges for alleged financial irregularities.
Sat alongside Pedro Proenca, President of the European Leagues & Liga Portugal, Jacco Swart, Managing Director of the European Leagues and Alberto Colombo, Deputy General Secretary of the European Leagues, Masters, to his credit, didn’t shirk the question.
Man City case to be resolve soon
“We can’t comment on the case as you know, but the date has been set and it will resolve itself in the near future,” he said to gathered and online media, including representatives from CaughtOffside.
It wasn’t the only difficult question that Masters and his colleagues were subject to either, as topics ranged from the amount of games having to be played to games being played abroad and government regulation.
“There is a growing pressure on the match calendar,” Jacco acknowledged when a comment concerning player welfare had to be addressed.
“UEFA have presented full details of the new international calendar and you will definitely see decisions that will be taken.
“There has to be a balance between international and domestic competitions.”
Masters appeared to agree. “It’s getting to a tipping point,” he added.
“We’re proud to be different in England but if you pour more liquid into the cup that is already full, it will overflow.
“It stands to reason if you overload the calendar, something’s got to give.”
The idea of a government regulator in England is a topic that has been discussed before and the press wanted to understand what Masters et al thought FIFA and UEFA’s reaction would be.
“What happens in England is something that European Leagues won’t interfere in,” Jacco interjected.
“We see that domestic football markets all across Europe are under enormous pressure. We are in general agreement that governments have good intentions but regulation could be self-harming.
“Government would need to be wary of the quickly changing landscape of international club football.”
One of the more interesting questions related to multi club ownership and how European Leagues intended to stop supposed the supposed lesser leagues in European football becoming feeder leagues for the major leagues.
“The board of directors will take a decision on this big topic at a future meeting,” Proenca noted.
“It’s a complicated topic, and needs a growing conversation with UEFA as well as internally. It’s high on the priority list.”