Finance guru demands rule change as Premier League ‘take aim’ at Chelsea
The Premier League needs to revisit its owners’ and directors’ test – but Richard Masters’ recent remarks about former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich are wide of the mark.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the top flight CEO’s controversial comments regarding the Russian oligarch.
As quoted by The Athletic last Monday (8 August), Masters suggested that Abramovich’s 2003 takeover would not have passed the current owners’ and directors’ test.
The 55-year-old’s near two-decade Stanford Bridge reign came to an end in May when he was forced to relinquish control to a consortium fronted by LA Dodgers supremo Todd Boehly.
That came after Abramovich was hit with sanctions by the UK government for his ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Changes to the current owners’ and directors’ test were advocated in the Fan Led Review of Football Governance in November last year.
Plumley admitted he could not see why Abramovich would have failed the current test but also insisted that it is time to reform the rules.
“There are two very separate parts to this,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“We know changes to the rules were a recommendation in the fan-led review. There is a wider issue there in terms of ownership structure across the Premier League and Football League.
“But these comments regarding Abramovich seem a little bit strange to me.
“Why take aim at him now when the takeover was in 2003 and the world was a very different place?
“There was nothing to suggest that anything illegal had taken place. So, yes, I think the rules should be looked at in the wider context of football. But the comments seemed odd given their timing.”
In other news, Brighton in advanced new contract talks with Chelsea target Andrew Moran.