Richard Scudamore continues backtracking, covering over his and the Premier League's trails, in an increasingly desperate attempt to emerge from the various scandals that slosh around his/their ankles with a modicom of professionalism still in place.
Having only supported the publication of the Quest inquiry after the arrest of the still unknown 61 year old in May for money laundering, Scudamore has lost more control of the whole bungs process with the City of London police raids on Glasgow Rangers, Newcastle United and Portsmouth. He cannot be awaiting any future developments with anything other than trepidation.
Furthermore, Scudamore is more than compromised by the West Ham United/MSI/Carlos Tevez saga. The double-jointed posturing of the Premier League has not only created a situation of pure farce in East London but has also established a confrontational negotiation battle when a more conciliatory structure could easily have been implemented. Having allowed West Ham United to remain in the Premiership without the points deduction that everybody on the planet appears to feel was a just punishment (Scudamore and West Ham excepted), the Premier League could only justify its position by declaring the third party agreements null and void. The short-termism of this strategy was swiftly realised when Tevez wished to move on to Man Utd. Did Scudamore just assume that his and the Premier League's repeated departures from the truth would disappear from the public's perception? The only route out of appearing ridiculously foolish is now a hidden agreement reached out of court between the various parties in this absolutely-not-three-party arrangement. Merely undertaking their role in these third party discussions totally undermines the self-policing of the Premier League and the original justification for allowing the Hammers to retain their Premiership place. And this is Scudamore's best option...
Rather than hob-nobbing with the gambling good in Hong Kong, Richard Scudamore would have been better employed at his desk addressing both the West Ham situation and the increasingly awkward Thaksin Shinawatra soap. We have itemised over numerous recent posts the reasonings why Thaksin is not a fit and proper person to own a Premiership football club (even if this club is Manchester City). The Premier League have repeatedly offered no obstacles to the conveyor belt of disturbing takeovers that have littered the English game over the last three years.
Today, Scudamore attempted to justify the allowance of Thaksin's takeover following concerns raised by both Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI). HRW wrote to the Premier League claiming that Shinawatra is "a human rights abuser of the worst kind" and that he should not have passed the league's 'fit and proper person' test. AI added that "if the Premier League wants to take any of that [human rights violations] into account when making their decisions, we're happy to make our documents available to them". As the HRW allegations and evidence of murder/torture are to be aired on BBC Five Live this evening, the Premier League was forced into a response. This response makes interesting reading: "It is important to realise that the Premier League takes its responsibilities surrounding the governance of its clubs very seriously. We have very clear rules on the ownership of our clubs, which include the Fit and Proper Persons Test (FAPPT), which go beyond any requirement by UK company law and are, to our knowledge, some of the sternest in place in any UK industry. The FAPPT means anyone convicted of a range of offences would not be permitted to become a director, or a shadow director, at a club".
A few points arising from this reply. Firstly, the point about shadow director is clearly being overlooked with respect to the position at Portsmouth where Alexandre Gaydamak controls the club as a shadow for his father, Arcadi, who is prevented from travelling to Europe due to a French arrest warrant for illegal arms dealing. By initialising the pretence that Alexandre is in control, the Premier League attempts to avoid the charges of either FAPPT or shadow issues being compromised. Secondly, the requirements in other industry sectors are of no significance. Premiership football is in a unique position which requires very specific legal and regulatory structures if the sport is to avoid, even at this late stage, the inexorable slide towards being merely a gambling sport. The fact that the Premiership is already directly linked with the illegal and liquid Far East betting markets enforces a very particular role for the guardians of the game.
The Premier League is repeatedly failing to look after the interests of anyone but the people with fat wallets. As Chief Executive of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore must take responsibility when the game is repeatedly falling into disrepute. And all this is before the inevitable betting scandal that must break the surface at some point soon...
© Football Is Fixed/Dietrological
