Gary Neville said he had been “unnerved” by reports the Government was preparing to shelve plans for an independent regulator for football.
The Government gave its formal backing to the idea of a regulator in April in its formal response to the fan-led review, but The Times reported that Prime Minister Liz Truss and her new administration could be set to abandon those plans.
The Labour Party committed itself to bringing forward the legislation needed to underpin a regulator at its annual conference on Monday should the Conservatives not do so.
Liz Truss and the Premier League prepare to kick regulation into touch – and no-one is surprised
A White Paper setting out the regulator’s remit had initially been due for publication in the summer before the upheaval in the Conservative Party leadership. The departure of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston has led to question marks over the regulator’s future, but Neville has not yet lost hope.
Neville, a big advocate of independent regulation in football, said at a Labour Party Conference fringe event on Monday: “It’s a really easy win for Liz Truss and her Cabinet to bring forward and execute what’s already been set out in the (fan-led review) recommendations.
“(Fan-led review chair) Tracey Crouch is a very credible MP who has done a brilliant job on behalf of football.
“The cross has been played into the box, all Liz Truss needs to do with the other Cabinet ministers is head it into the back of the net.
“I think we’re a little unnerved at the moment. We’re a little nervous at the moment about the fact that last week there were rumours that potentially the regulator would be scrapped.
“But I am going to stay calm for now because I have not had it validated or verified by Government.”
Fair Game, a campaign group featuring EFL sides and other clubs further down the pyramid which supports independent regulation for football, welcomed the stance Labour had taken.
“This is a welcome shot in the arm for football clubs across the pyramid,” Fair Game chief executive Niall Couper said.
“Football outside the top echelons has been ignored for too long. The pandemic was a hard pill to swallow for lower league clubs. But the cost-of-living crisis has made it even worse, leaving dozens of hard-working community clubs in intensive care.
“Football urgently needs an independent regulator. It is now up to the Conservatives to…
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