The Premier League will resist moves to ban clubs from having their shirts sponsored by betting companies as part of the government’s promised review of gambling legislation, the league’s new chief executive, Richard Masters, has said.
In a wide-ranging first media interview since the Premier League ended its long search to replace Richard Scudamore, and appointed him in December, Masters said the league would cooperate with the government review, but was “not sniffy or judgmental” about gambling.
Masters also said that VAR, an object of some frustration this season to players, managers and supporters, was “here to stay” but the Premier League would seek improvements, including to the length of time it takes to check referees’ decisions, and potentially to the fine margins of the offside rule.
“Sport and gambling have a long association,” Masters said, in response to campaigners’ concerns that the “gamblification” of football has long become excessive and is a cause of problem betting and addiction. The Premier League does not have a commercial gambling partner, he added, but acknowledged that all 20 clubs do – 10 have betting companies as their main shirt sponsor. “We’re certainly not sniffy about it; it’s up to our clubs whether they want to have their own gambling relationships.”
Discussing the government’s commitment to reviewing the 2005 Gambling Act, the legislation with which the then Labour government dramatically lifted previously stringent regulations on the industry, Masters said: “We’ll be welcome participants in that … I think this area does need stronger governance, particularly to protect the vulnerable. I don’t think the answer coming out at the end of it should be that football clubs shouldn’t have shirts sponsored by gambling companies, but … we will certainly cooperate with the review.”
Challenged about whether this relaxed approach to clubs promoting gambling was consistent with the Premier League’s commitment to its community programmes, which carry out social inclusion and education projects with deprived and vulnerable people, Masters responded: “We’re not sniffy or judgmental about gambling at all.”
Responding to controversies about VAR, Masters said the Premier League had carried out polling of fans which found a majority support its impact on more accurate decision-making, but widespread frustration was also expressed with the time checks can take and the tiny margins which determine offsides. The details of the poll will be shared with the clubs at their meeting on Thursday, and the league is considering whether to ask football’s international law-making body, Ifab, if the offside rule could be changed.
“I think it’s here to stay,” Masters said of VAR, “and certainly it’s going to be with us next season. We will look at the development next season to iron out some of the issues we have had.”
Research has found 94% of key match decisions made with the assistance of VAR are correct, he said, and 97% of offsides and other decisions which fall into assistant referees’ areas of responsibility are correct.
“It is having an impact on the outcome of games, on the league tables, which is what [we] wanted to happen, and as a league we want to work really hard on ironing out those other issues, and that is what we are discussing with clubs,” he said.
The delay experienced in stadiums waiting for goals and other decisions to be reviewed is an inevitable consequence of introducing the technology, he said, and suggested frustration could be eased with referees’ greater use of pitchside review screens, because supporters can see the process happening. “I don’t think you can have VAR without acknowledging that [delay] is going to happen. In essence, if you have all goals reviewed, you know VAR is going to deliver a slightly different experience. The question for the organisation, competition and the clubs is whether that trade-off is worth it.”
He acknowledged the exasperation expressed by some players and supporters after VAR offside decisions based on an armpit or other part of a striker’s body being just in front of a defender. Ifab is meeting in Belfast on 29 February, when the working of the offside rule, and VAR, are expected to be discussed. “I think offsides is [an area for possible change] and whether you want offsides that are precise to the armpit or the heel, or whether you want to build in a bit of tolerance. That is sort of a technical challenge. We are in constant dialogue with Ifab about it.”
Referring to reports a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund is discussing buying Newcastle United, having first considered Manchester United, Masters said any new owner would be subject to “due diligence” and background checks.
The league’s “fit and proper persons” test for owners and directors bars people who have criminal convictions, including those who have committed acts in other countries which would be considered crimes in England. Asked whether there would be an investigation into the key people involved in a Saudi fund if it did take over a club, Masters said: “We do an enormous amount of due diligence, we do; so it’s not just that we receive the forms … and take them at face value. There are background checks, and that’s the same for everybody.”