Andy Burnham hits out at Premier League live on BBC as fresh concerns raised
Andy Burnham has criticised the Premier League for what he describes as a “PR campaign” against Everton’s fan advisory board, live on BBC Radio Merseyside.
Burnham, a huge Everton fan and the Mayor of Greater Manchester, told host Giulia Bould [15 May, 18:39] that the Premier League have targeted the club over a submission to the Football Governance Bill from the EFC Fan Advisory Board.
The submission details the significance of supporter involvement in the bill, which was co-signed by Burnham, alongside Dame Sue Owen, Sir Brendan Barber and Peter Reid.
“First of all, we are in debt to the fan advisory board (FAB) for their hard work and we are very proud of the FAB as an independent institution,” said Burnham.
“We believe it’s really important we get a strong independent football regulator coming out of this process.
“As it stands, we have real concerns that the bill doesn’t achieve that and risks being a missed opportunity. It’s my view that the Premier League went after Everton as part of a PR campaign against this bill.”
Andy Burnham behind Everton fans’ campaign
The work of the Everton FAB has been excellent and should act as a blueprint to other support bases who are doing the most for the future security of their clubs.
The FAB were recently in criticism of owner Farhad Moshiri after it was reported that a proposed meeting between the two parties was continually postponed, again giving the impression that fans are considered a mere afterthought in hierarchical processes.
This is precisely what their submission to the governance committee is seeking to change, after their findings published that the 140-page Football Governance Bill only mentioned the word ‘fan’ 16 times – a simple reality of the priorities considered.
Moshiri has set proposed new majority stakeholders 777 Partners a deadline of 31 May to complete their purchase of the club before alternative plans are launched.
Once this exclusivity deadline has passed, Everton’s future could be thrown into even further disarray – something supporters are looking to get a grip on before it’s too late with their hands tied.
In other Everton news, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has shared a “bugbear” with supporters.
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