Premier League: Statement on Ofcom ruling.

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Premier League Finance Rules
The Premier League explains Portsmouth's points deduction and the rules designed to prevent it happening again.

 

The Premier League on Wednesday, in accordance with its rules and policies, deducted nine points from Portsmouth FC after the High Court ruled that the south coast club's administration is valid.

The Premier League applied the sporting sanction, rule C.60, which stipulates that nine points is deducted from any club that suffers an event of insolvency. This is one of several Premier League rules determining how clubs run themselves and conduct their financial affairs.

 
The League regularly updates its rulebook to reflect and adapt to an ever changing economic and regulatory environment, which helps enable clubs to operate their business and sporting models in a sustainable manner.


Clubs have long had to provide the Premier League Board with annual accounts and full details of any transaction greater than £25,000. In September 2009 the clubs voted to take this further and agreed to the introduction of new financial rules that involve each club having to provide audited accounts and future financial information showing how they will meet their commitments for the following season. These new rules come into force for the 2010/2011 Barclays Premier League season

The submission of future financial information is designed to act as an early warning system and will alert the Premier League of any club taking undue financial risks which may have consequences for its future financial stability.

new rule


Any qualification raised in accounts or risk seen by the Premier League Board could result in action to help prevent a club from exposing itself to further liabilities. This could include sanctions relating to transfer activity or club budgets.

This information will be submitted to the Premier League Board in March each year and the process for the 2010/11 season has already begun with clubs currently in the process of submitting the relevant information ahead of next term.

The League's Fit and Proper Persons Test was also strengthened last summer. The changes made bar any individual from becoming a club director if they have an unspent conviction that resulted in a 12 month custodial sentence. This is in addition to relevant UK Company Law.

At the same time, the Premier League introduced a new rule regarding transparency of club ownership with all clubs now required to publicly declare any shareholder with more than a 10 per cent stake.

All these rules taken together are there to ensure that clubs are in a position to sustain themselves financially from season to season and, ultimately, to protect the sporting integrity of the Barclays Premier League.

 Courtesy of:  premierleague.com

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Portsmouth Football Club
The Premier League has issued a statement regarding Portsmouth Football Club.

 

The statement reads: "Following the High Court's decision that Portsmouth FC's administration is valid the Premier League Board convened today to apply the League's rules and policies in relation to a member club suffering an event of insolvency.

 
"As a result Portsmouth FC has been deducted nine points with immediate effect.


"As part of this process the Board met with the Administrator to agree how we will work together for the remainder of the season to ensure that the club is able fulfil its commitments."


Courtesy of:  premierleague.com

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Premier League statement on Ofcom ruling
The Premier League is considering a challenge to Ofcom over its 'misconceived and unjustified' intervention.

 

The Premier League, along with all the major sports in the UK, is dismayed and frustrated that Ofcom has failed to take account of any of the points made by the Premier League and other sports.

By forcing Sky to sell its sports channels to its competitors at a discount, Ofcom will reduce the incentives of all broadcasters, Sky included, to invest in the acquisition of sports rights. This can only have a negative impact on the ability of sport to attract a fair market value for its content.


wholly unjustified

Ofcom's intervention will damage all sports. Reduced income from rights sales will be rapidly reflected at every level of sport - it will be harder to recruit and retain top talent, youth development will come under pressure, investment in grounds and facilities will be deferred and, in the case of football, the ability to contribute to the rest of the game from the Championship to local parks will be severely diminished.

Ofcom appears to be trying to market engineer by putting the narrow interests of a small number of large companies ahead of the interests of sports fans across the UK. Their intervention is misconceived and wholly unjustified.

Premier League rights are sold in a way that is entirely compatible with competition law, as approved by the European competition regulator, with multiple packages made available to the market every three years and no single company allowed to acquire the lot. These packages are sold in a way that allows effective competition as well as allowing bidders to enter the market for our rights. Ofcom has no basis for an intervention.

The Premier League will now carefully study today's announcement and consider what action to take to best protect the interests of fans, our Clubs and football more widely.

attract value

Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore, said: "The Premier League is at one with the rest of UK sport over Ofcom's ill-judged and disproportionate intervention in the broadcast market.

"Their proposed action will strip out competition for sports rights and hugely reduce the incentives of all bidders, Sky included, to invest in sports rights. The effect will be to subsidise companies that have shown little appetite for investing in our content and fundamentally damage the investment models that have helped sport become a successful part of the UK economy and made sport so attractive to UK consumers.

"Rights holders want to see competition for their content to attract value to invest in the areas fans want - playing talent and facilities - anything that diminishes that investment will be bad for the consumer.

"Of course we will be considering Ofcom's findings in full and do not rule out a challenge to protect the interests of fans, clubs and the wider game."



Courtesy of:   premierleague.com

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Joint FA and Premier League statement
Joint FA and Premier League statement regarding Uefa Financial Fair Play regulations - 27 May 2010.
 

The FA and the Premier League are fully supportive of the principle of sustainability and of football clubs living within their means.

The vast majority of what has been agreed by Uefa is in line with current domestic regulations and English football will respect any rules put in place for clubs competing in Europe.

We recognise the difficult task undertaken by Uefa in this process and we have asked that certain issues be monitored so as to ensure these rules do not create unintended consequences such as preventing smaller clubs from having the opportunity to invest the resources required to compete at a higher level.
We look forward to continuing to work with Uefa as these rules are gradually introduced over the next few seasons.


Courtesy of:   premierleague.com