Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has been asked by MPs to clarify his remarks about Nottingham Forest and Everton.
During the Culture, Media, and Sport Committee session on January 16, Richard Masters, the chief executive of the Premier League, employed the term “small clubs” in response to a question about Nottingham Forest and Everton.
Both Everton and Forest are facing charges for alleged violations of profit and sustainability rules (PSR). Committee chair Caroline Dinenage expressed that the remark raises broader questions.
Damian Green, a committee member, had inquired whether there was differential treatment between big clubs and others concerning the league’s PSR.
Notably, both Everton and Forest are currently charged, with Everton already appealing a 10-point deduction for a separate breach of the rules aimed at maintaining sustainable club spending.
In February 2023, Manchester City faced over 100 breaches of financial rules but is yet to undergo a hearing. Masters acknowledged during the recent hearing that he comprehends why fans of Everton and Forest might feel frustrated by this situation.
In answering Green he said: “The standard directions [on PSR] are for everybody, they’re not just for the small clubs.”
It led to criticism from fans of both clubs on social media.
“Richard Masters’ implication that nine-times league title winners Everton and double European Cup winners Nottingham Forest are ‘small clubs’ will have raised eyebrows with fans,” Dinenage said.
“To suggest clubs are categorised according to size raises wider questions about whether every member of the league truly does receive treatment that is fair and consistent.”
In its letter to Masters, the committee also wants him to explain the league’s role in sanctioning clubs, saying “his insistence that the charges and punishment regime is entirely independent of the Premier League” was “puzzling”.
The committee has called upon Minister for Sport Stuart Andrew to expedite the Football Governance Bill, which aims to institute an independent regulator for football, at the earliest opportunity.
When approached by newsmen, the Premier League opted not to provide a comment, but a source characterized the letter as “an attempt to showboat.”