Destroying documents sought by IFR will be a crime
Other sanctions include fines and compelled sale of clubs
Rogue owners could be imprisoned for the most serious violations of the Football Governance Act under plans set out by the new Independent Football Regulator (IFR). Other mooted sanctions include fines of up to 10% of a club’s revenue and being forced to sell up.
The proposals for a new test for owners, directors and senior executives are critical to the regulator’s activities in a climate in which clubs such as Morecambe and Sheffield Wednesday have experienced existential peril. Their intention is to assess the “honesty, integrity and financial soundness” of those currently or potentially running a club in the English professional game. They have been published for public consultation until 6 October, with the intention that the new regime is imposed as soon as possible. The government wants to fast-track the regulator’s start so that its powers are activated in the autumn.
Among the most eye-catching elements is the prospect that in the most serious breaches of July’s Football Governance act an owner could face criminal consequences. In the gravest scenario those could include imprisonment. Specifically, the destruction or disposal of information or documents required by the IFR is deemed a criminal offence; so are the provision of misleading information and obstructing the IFR from exercising its rights to enter business premises. Pursuit of criminal sanctions would be viewed as a last resort for when civil sanctions, such as financial punishments, are considered inadequate.
