'Not acceptable' to block regulator bill - Nandy

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said the creation of a new football regulator is "a top priority"

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has warned peers it is "not acceptable to use parliamentary procedures to try to block" the Football Governance Bill as it passes through the House of Lords.

The strengthened legislation, which will establish a first independent regulator for the professional men's game in England, was reintroduced by the government in October.

It remains at the committee stage in parliament, where members of the Lords have been discussing potential amendments for several days.

On Monday, former Labour Cabinet Minister Lord Blunkett said opponents of the bill are trying to "filibuster" - to delay or block - its passage through the Lords.

"It is high time we got on with it," Nandy told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Tuesday.

Background

The landmark legislation was tabled initially in March, but failed to pass through Parliament before the general election was called in May.

The reintroduced version will give the regulator powers to assess the impact of the Premier League's controversial 'parachute payments' to relegated clubs as part of a 'State of the Game' review every five years.

Its findings could influence which proposed sharing model the regulator may then impose - the Premier League's or the English Football League's - if it is asked to decide how much money the top flight should redistribute to the football pyramid via 'backstop powers'.

It will also "explicitly require clubs to provide effective engagement" with fans on changes to ticket prices, and any proposals to relocate home grounds.

'Not acceptable' - Nandy

When asked if she had a message for any peers trying to delay the bill, Nandy told MPs on the CMS Committee, "this has been a very thoughtful piece of work" that "fans across the country have taken seriously and engaged in".

She added: "Too many fans have been in the situation... of seeing their clubs collapse or be on the verge of collapse, with no tools or powers to effectively be able to do anything about that.

"This is a bill that has had cross-party support consensus for a long time, it was a manifesto commitment from this government.

"It is not acceptable to use parliamentary procedures to try to block a piece of legislation on which so many hopes and dreams rest".

Nandy said her message is that "we need to get on with this for the sake of football and out of respect for the fans".

'Dangers lurking' - Brady

Supporter groups and the EFL are among those to have welcomed the bill, but the Premier League has expressed concern at the regulator having "unprecedented and untested powers to intervene in the distribution of [its] revenues".

The Premier League also said it could have "a negative impact on competitiveness, clubs' investment in world-class talent and the aspiration that drives our global appeal and growth".

It is talking to government with a view to persuading it to make changes to the framework of the legislation in order to avoid what it has called "unintended consequences".

The legislation has also faced opposition from peers such as West Ham United vice chair Baroness Brady, who has told the Lords that there are "dangers lurking in this bill".

On Monday, Brady said: "This unprecedented intervention into private commercial rights must be carefully scrutinised.

"It very obviously has a differential and disproportionate impact on the clubs within the Premier League. It is also clear that the consequences of this seismic and deeply flawed intervention have not been fully understood."

However, when responding to a number of proposed amendments, Blunkett said: "What is this all about?

"It is quite right that we in this House should scrutinise, raise legitimate argument and challenge a bill of this sort.

"But I say to the Premier League, and to those who are, by the very nature of the debate over the last three committee days, involved in taking the briefings: overdo this and you will do so at your peril, because at some point millions of fans out there might learn what is going on with the filibuster taking place in this committee and, when they do, they will be very angry."

However, crossbench peer Baroness Fox said: "I take this Bill seriously. I've read as much as I can. Nobody from the Premier League has come anywhere near me, should you want to know, written my speeches or talked to me.

"There's a lot in this Bill to get ones head around and try to speak to.

"If there's a repetition that's going on in his debate, it's the constant people on the other side saying that anyone who is scrutinising the Bill must have been got at by the Premier League. That is not true, certainly not of a wide range of us."

The Premier League has been approached for comment.

The Football Supporters' Association said: "A handful of Tory peers seem intent on proposing amendment after amendment in an orchestrated effort to sabotage a bill that was actually supported by the Conservatives ahead of the last election.

"Supporters won't look kindly upon cynical parliamentary manoeuvres of this sort, which are usually made by people who've already lost the argument."