English football already has an independent regulator - it's called the FA
Shaun Harvey, the former CEO of the Football League tells Rich and Rob that the imposition of an independent regulator could, and should, have been avoided.
"I am proud to be part of the winning team that has put our fans back on the pitch at the heart of the game, where they belong," Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said after MPs voted through the legislation required to introduce an independent regulator to oversee the top five divisions in English football earlier this week.
"This is for Macclesfield, for Wigan, for Bury, for Bolton, for Derby, for Reading, for Sheffield Wednesday, for Morecambe and for many, many more who have had to endure the misery of being put last when they should have been put first," she added triumphantly.
But while the MP for Wigan viewed the vote as a triumph for supporters, there are plenty who see it as an unnecessary and unwelcome intrusion into the governance of the sport.
Some, such as Shaun Harvey, the former CEO of the Football League, believe that an independent regulator is already in existence - and goes by the name of the Football Association.
In our exclusive interview with Harvey for the Rich and Rob podcast last month, Harvey was strident in his belief that football should govern itself. And warned that the introduction of an independent regulator could have unintended consequences.
“I’m fairly and squarely in the camp that, ultimately, football should govern itself,” says Harvey. “It shouldn’t really need an external regulator.
“Ultimately, the FA are the governing body of football in this country and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t or couldn’t have been able to do the job that’s now being given by government to the regulator.
“It would be a far better fit if the FA had been put in a position to do it, simply because that’s the structure that already exists.
“Ultimately the FA need to look at themselves as an organisation generally over many years, not just the current incumbents, as to why the government didn’t feel that they were able to fulfil that role as a governing body in a way that was in the best interests of football.”
After flying through parliament - MPs voted 415 to 98 in favour of passing the bill after its third reading in the House of Commons - the independent regulator looks set to become a reality sooner rather than later.
The bill also states that the regulator will have "backstop" powers to impose a financial settlement between the English Football League (EFL) and the Premier League if the two parties can’t reach an agreement themselves.
In reality, the independent regulator - whether you support its introduction or not - adds another body to English football’s already congested governance model occupied by the FA, Premier League and Football League.
And, Harvey says, English football has effectively been governed by the self-interest of all those groups for the past 33 years.
“You’re imposing something into a structure that already exists,” he says.
“But that structure has not delivered the outcome and the results that everybody desires.
“In reality, it’s not just the fault of the FA, they have a part to play and a significant part.
“But ultimately, the EFL and the Premier League, the competitions, for many, many years have tried to make sure that the FA’s influence into each of our own affairs was as limited as possible.
“I mean, there’s no real logic that answers why the owners and directors test, or its predecessor, the fit and proper person’s test, couldn’t have been done by the FA.
“The reason it wasn’t is that both the EFL and the Premier League wanted to ensure that they kept control of this area to look after the benefits of their member clubs.
“Ultimately there are any number of areas that potentially should have been done and undertaken away from the EFL or the Premier League but never were on the basis that the instructions and directive from the clubs was to ensure that their interests were protected from inside the competition.”