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No doubt Sean Dyche will be asked about the charge Everton and Leeds face over a mass brawl during their Premier League game last weekend.

Four players were shown yellow cards after the incident towards the end of the first half of Everton's 1-0 win.

The clubs have been charged by the Football Association with improper conduct and for failing to control their players.

The brawl was sparked by Everton winger Dwight McNeil reacting angrily to a tackle from midfielder Tyler Adams.

McNeil - who was guarded by a steward after being pushed over - and Adams were booked, along with Everton's Abdoulaye Doucoure and Leeds' Weston McKennie.

Everton

Everton manager Sean Dyche is talking ahead of Saturday's Premier League match at home to Aston Villa.

We will hear from him soon.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Tranmere chief executive Mark Palios, a former CEO of the Football Association, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "The modus operandi of the Premier League is to march difficult issues into the long grass to outlast the appetite and attention span of the current minister.

"When you see what has happened over a period of time and consider the question 'can football fix itself?', the answer to that is a no.

"Something like this was required, my concern was that it wouldn't actually happen. It has happened now but this is only the start. The reality is in what they would call the consultation phase with stakeholders is now going to come. We have already lost a year since Tracey Crouch's report so time is of the essence.

"But I think it is a really positive move."

BBC Radio 5 Live

Phil Young, chairman of Bury AFC - a club set up by fans of Bury FC, which was expelled from the English Football League in 2019 after financial problems - has welcomed the government white paper on football.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We are all just keen to see this come to fruition. We just want them to get on with it. Put it in place and let's get moving on all of this.

"There will be some fans - certainly some of Premier League clubs - that will wonder what all the fuss is about.

"It's a bit like buying an insurance policy and at the end of it complaining you didn't need it because you didn't use it - in some of these sorts of things you don't realise there is a problem until you have experienced it and gone through it.

"Bury football supporters, Macclesfield, other clubs that have gone through the wringer of late - there is a growing number of them - all realise the value of this sort of thing. The value of protecting clubs for their communities going forward.

"It is about the greater good. It is about protecting football, not an individual football club. It is about looking after the interests of everybody, really."

BBC Radio 5 Live

Former sports minister Tracey Crouch, who chaired a fan-led review into football governance, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live on the government's white paper: "I think the Premier League should sit back and reflect on why we got here in the first place.

"We have seen over the course of recent years, but also decades, football go from crisis to crisis.

"We have seen sports ministers like myself and my predecessors stand at the dispatch box, under pressure from parliamentary colleagues who are representing their constituents and their communities which have been affected by these crises, and say 'this is a matter for the football authorities and it is time for them to step up or government will do so'.

"When we saw Bury disappear and we saw the attempts to establish a European Super League it was just a crises that went too far and nobody was doing anything about it.

"In fact, with regards to the European Super League, the Premier League at the time was asking government for help to intervene to help ensure clubs couldn't break away from the English Premier League.

"Nothing in the white paper, or indeed in my review, impacts on the competitiveness of the investment opportunities or the wealth or the talent that we expect to see in the Premier League. Nothing.

"What it does do is it puts the whole of football on a much more sustainable footing and that is good for our communities and that is good for our football fans."

BBC Radio 5 Live

Former sports minister Tracey Crouch, who chaired a fan-led review of the professional game in 2021, gave her reaction to the Government white paper on BBC Radio 5 Live: "I am pretty pleased. The core recommendations around an independent regulator underpinned by legislation has been accepted.

"We will see a shadow regulator established at the earliest opportunity, so it gets up and running.

"We will see greater protections in place for the heritage of football clubs, which is something that fans feel very passionate about.

"We will see governance reforms so we have a much better governance structure of football clubs.

"These are all really core recommendations of the review which will put football on a long-term sustainable footing."

BBC Radio 5 Live

More from EFL chairman Rick Parry, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, on whether he believes the Football League will get 25% of the Premier League media revenue, which they have lobbied for::"We wanted a broader package, to be fair, it wasn't just about an arbitrary percentage.

"What we want is better merit rates, we want an abolition of parachute payments. What we want is a smoother system where clubs don't face catastrophe when they are moving up or down the pyramid. We want to discuss the means of doing that.

"There isn't one single solution. We are not saying ours is the only solution, but we do believe our solution works and again it is absolutely driven by the aim of making every single one of the clubs in the pyramid sustainable - from top to bottom.

"It is not just the EFL, it is about the clubs up and down the pyramid - National League and Premier League as well."

BBC Radio 5 Live

Rick Parry, chairman of the English Football League, has welcomed the Government's white paper on football governance. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It is in line with our expectations. It is certainly in line with the fan-led review, which we welcomed.

"So we are pleased. We welcome better regulation. Our purpose is making clubs sustainable, which is all about financial redistribution and regulation - the two have to go hand-in-hand.

"We see this as a massive opportunity to have a proper reset and secure the financial health of our pyramid."

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Government plans to introduce an independent regulator for football have been widely welcomed in most circles, below the Premier League level, but England's top tier remains reticent.

The Premier League said it appreciated the government's "commitment" to protecting the league's success, but cautioned: "It is vital regulation does not damage the game or its ability to attract investment and grow interest."

A statement added that the league would work "constructively" with stakeholders to ensure the regulator "does not lead to any unintended consequences that could affect the Premier League's position as the most-watched football league in the world".

West Ham owner went a step further, calling it a "terrible idea".

"The regulator will have a huge staff that football will have to pay for. It will be a total waste of money," he told Sky Sports News:

BBC Radio 5 Live

Sports minister Stuart Andrew told BBC Radio 5 Live why the Government has brought in a football white paper, including plans for an independent regulator:

"There's a lot to celebrate about English football. It is hugely successful in many areas. But there is no doubt there are some serious problems that do exist.

"The fan-led review spent a considerable amount of time getting evidence about the experiences many fans had with their individual clubs and it's clear some of them are not being managed well.

"We had hoped that football would sort this problem out themselves, but frankly they haven't, so we have responded to that review by publishing this white paper, which takes on board the key recommendation - the establishment of an independent regulator to ensure those clubs are sustainable, have the finances they need and are run by fit and proper people."

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the "bold new plans" set out in the Government white paper would put fans "back at the heart of football".

"Since its inception over 165 years ago, English football has been bringing people together, providing a source of pride for communities and inspiration to millions of fans across the country," he said.

"Yet despite the success of the sport both at home and abroad, we know that there are real challenges which threaten the stability of clubs both big and small.

"The new plans will protect the rich heritage and traditions of our much-loved clubs and safeguard the beautiful game for future generations."

"The English game remains one of the UK's greatest cultural exports, with clubs and leagues around the world modelling themselves on its success," the government said before its white paper on football governance - a policy document which outlines the proposed legislation - is released on Thursday.

"That is why the government is today taking the necessary and targeted steps to ensure that continues for generations."

The Premier League was understood to be wary of a regulatory body when the proposals were announced in April last year.

The league says it is "vital" a regulator does not lead to any "unintended consequences" that could affect its global appeal and success.

The main purposes of the proposed new football regulator will be:

• Stopping English clubs from joining closed-shop competitions, which are judged to harm the domestic game
• Preventing a repeat of financial failings seen at numerous clubs, notably the collapses of Bury and Macclesfield
• Introducing a more stringent owners' and directors' test to protect clubs and fans
• Giving fans power to stop owners changing a club's name, badge and traditional kit colours
• Ensuring a fair distribution of money filters down the English football pyramid from the Premier League

Image source, Getty Images

Blocking clubs from joining a breakaway European Super League will be among the powers held by English football's new independent regulator.

The plan for a regulator, recommended by a fan-led review last year, has been confirmed by the UK government.

Preventing historic clubs going out of business is one of the aims, as well as giving fans greater input and a new owners' and directors' test.

The significant move aims to protect English football's cultural heritage.

We'll have more on the plans covered in the Government's football white paper throughout the day.

Read the full report here.

Before those news conferences, let's bring you up to speed with the latest on the government's white paper - what it means to the future of football in England and how people have reacted to it.

As mentioned, we have a handful of Premier League press conferences today.

Here is a schedule of those we will be covering on these pages:

13:30 - Everton, Leicester & Fulham14:00 - Wolves & Nottingham Forest

The terribly sad news of John Motson's passing came on what could prove to be a landmark day for English football, following the long-awaited publication of the government's white paper on football governance.

We will focus on that story now, as well as upcoming Premier League press conferences, but will return to your Motty tributes and memories throughout the day.

A highlights reel that covered 2,500 games over 50 years.

Read our obituary for John Motson.

As you can imagine we have had so many messages about John Motson.

We love hearing your stories and cherished memories about the great man and will publish as many as we can during the day, so please do keep them coming,