The introduction of an Independent Football Regulator could ruin the beautiful game.
That is the view of talkSPORT host and ex-Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, who believes that the new legislation will lead to ‘dangerous times’.
The UK government are set to announce the Football Governance Bill in Parliament, which will grant powers to the IFR to oversee clubs in England’s top-five tiers.
Conservative MP Tracey Crouch has led calls to appoint a regulator, which has come about following the failed European Super League breakaway.
Aimed to ‘protect the heritage’ of teams, the IFR will have a huge say in the financial distribution between the Premier League and EFL.
This is in addition to ‘stronger tests’ for new owners and directors, while also being able to block clubs from joining any unsanctioned competition.
Giving his say on the matter, Jordan has argued that the new historic measures could be to the detriment of football, rather than helping it.
He said: “Football needs to be careful about what it does to itself, you’ve got a situation now with the PGMOL that have implemented VAR – which is a good idea – in a bad way.
“It’s been implemented incorrectly which is damaging the game, you’ve then got this financial regulation coming in which will damage the game.
“If we’re not careful, these are existential threats to the value of this game – these are dangerous times, but interesting ones.
“And it’s about how significant operators within the game react to it, rather than the background noise that politicians are making.”
Jordan also remarked: “It’s almost like that TV show back in the 1970s where Jesus of Nazareth was on a cross looking down going, ‘Forgive them Lord, they know not what they’ve done.’
“The idea that we need over-regulation of this game and governance to step into a scenario where it starts to strangle the game is ridiculous.
“The real battle is about distributions, about more money being paid into the pyramid.
“And why the independent regulator has value to me is because it can be used as an opportunity for Rick Parry [EFL chairman] and Trevor Birch [EFL chief executive] to make up for the sins of the imbeciles that went before them.
“[They] couldn’t bridge the gap between what the Premier League was becoming, and what they needed to get from it, so the battle for distribution is a valid one.
“The idea that a brilliant sport with a brilliant set of leagues that dominates world football, that in 1985 had nine games being broadcast on terrestrial TV, had £1.3million as it’s broadcast deal, had empty stadiums and football violence off the scale, now has billions coming into the game.
“It’s the world’s most powerful league, with some of the best football teams, managers and individuals playing in it – has 320 games being broadcast live every season.
“It has football stadiums like shining new pins, but has a few challenges, is somehow broken and needs a bunch of regulators to come in and strange the life out of it which is what they tend to do in dynamic industries, is bloody stupid.
“But it’s brought it upon itself, and it’s been dressed up as some fan-led revolution, OK. Be careful what you wish for, because there’s a distinct possibility you might get it.”
He continued: “Let me be clear, nobody in football wants a regulator, but what they [Parry and Birch] want it for, is to use it as a leverage to get the Premier League to come to the table to distribute more revenue, because they don’t want to.
“And neither would you if you were in the Premier League!”
Jordan then stated: “I absolutely agree there needs to be more governance and better structures, it makes me die of embarrassment on behalf of the FA – they’re sitting on the sidelines cheering this on like bleeding idiots.
“They were supposed to be the de facto regulator of the game, they’re going, ‘Let’s all get an independent regulator,’ what are you doing then?
“Because you won’t have a fight with the Premier League because you want international fixtures and you want the players available and you want the FA Cup to go alongside the Premier League. That’s how poor you are.”