- State ownership not covered by enhanced test
- ‘That is obviously a matter for foreign office’
An enhanced owners’ and directors’ test, one of the central components of a proposed independent regulator for football, would not have prevented the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle and would not block a Qatari buyout of Manchester United, the government has confirmed.
The extent of a regulator’s reach was one of the main concerns raised by the Premier League over a white paper loudly welcomed by the majority of stakeholders. In the case of state ownership of clubs or takeovers by individuals from countries with questionable human rights records, a regulator will stay well away from these contentious issues however.
