Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has struck back at new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly. The businessman made comments on Tuesday about Americanizing the Premier League by introducing an All-Star game and even suggested a playoff system to determine which teams are relegated from England’s top flight.
“Ultimately, I hope the Premier League learns a little bit of a lesson from American sports,” Boehly said. “MLB made its all-star game in Los Angeles this year. We made $200 million between a Monday and a Tuesday.”
Gary Neville: US investors pose a danger to English football
Neville responded with a scathing assessment of not just Boehly, but every American owner in the league.
“I keep saying it, but the faster we get to the Regulator the better,” Neville wrote on social media. “American investment in English soccer is a clear and present danger to the pyramid and the fabric of the game. They just don’t get it and think differently. They also don’t stop until they get what they want!”
Earlier this year, the UK government made plans to introduce an independent regulator to the sport to help give fans a greater say. The Premier League did not agree on the need to use a regulator. However, plans are moving slowly. Whether and when these regulators will be implemented remains to be seen, but they can apparently sanction clubs and even give potential owners an “integrity test”.
Deja vu for those who follow the events in England
Neville’s comments are reminiscent of how outspoken he was against English clubs trying to launch a Super League last year. The common thread between the idea of The Super League and Boehly’s ideas is a sense of greed.
While Boehly’s comments were silly and weird, none of his suggestions have been applied to the league. An owner does not have the power to make drastic changes in the sport. Premier League fans would only have to worry about the changes if more club owners agreed to make the changes.
However, the fear of many (including Neville) is that the foreign owners of Premier League clubs do not understand the culture, history or tradition of English football. Boehly suggests that a game of North Stars against South is ridiculous, just showing how out of touch he is with English football. For example, imagine a northern team with footballers from Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Leeds United, and what would be the reaction of the fans who were expected to support that team.
Boehly became the ninth American owner in the Premier League when he bought Chelsea this summer. However, the American owners of Leeds and West Ham do not currently have a majority stake in their clubs.
Photo Credit: IMAGO/PA Images
