The Premier League doesn’t need a regulator

There are a number of things that need to be regulated, or sustainable. Your energy bills, the cleanliness of water, healthcare, social care, education. Not football. Football needs to be fluid and free. Up and down, success and failure. It is not just some sweaty branch of accountancy. It should never be made safe and predictable. And it already has regulation. It has plenty of rules and parameters. It does not require politicians to enforce more. Football is not the politicians’ business.

But they will make it so. The Football Governance Bill, which is making its way through the House of Lords, puts the game in the hands of Westminster. An independent regulator, the politicians call it. This is a misrepresentation. It is not independent.