RICHARD CABORN, the Sports Minister, has called for greater transparency in the ownership of football clubs, and has urged the parties involved in a possible takeover of West Ham United to reveal their identities.
“I would urge those involved to be as open and transparent as possible,” Caborn said. “The issue of club ownership was covered by the recent [Independent] European Sports Review, which also urged greater transparency and regulation. As the Prime Minister pointed out recently, those aspects of the review that try to bring greater integrity to the way in which the financial transactions are conducted are especially worthwhile.”
The review, which was commissioned during the UK’s tenure of the European Union presidency, specifically refers to sports marketing companies such as Media Sports Investments (MSI), which has been linked to the West Ham talks.
“Given the growing financial importance of football it may be appropriate to tighten the existing regulations to cover the situation of possible de facto control of a club, for example by a sponsor or sports marketing company,” the review reads. “It seems appropriate to impose additional disclosure obligations to declare true ownership details and cashflows derived from important commercial partners.”
Uefa, the governing body of European football, is also watching developments at Upton Park with some unease, and would like the Government to take a more active role. “We certainly are concerned by what is going on because it seems to be following a worrying pattern,” William Gaillard, the Uefa director of communications, said. “The trend is going against what we want to see: more clubs being owned by the community and the people who really care for them. This is a wake-up call and the UK Government have a responsibility to start investigating.”
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The Premier League already carries out a “fit and proper persons test” on potential club chairmen and directors, which, as has been pointed out, Kia Joorabchian, the former president of MSI, might struggle to pass in view of his association with a series of failed ventures.
Badri Patarkatsishvili, a Georgian businessman, has denied reports that he is a party to the talks. “I’m just close to people who are thinking about buying this club,” he said.
Meanwhile, West Ham have denied that the contracts of Carlos Tévez and Javier Mascherano specify that they must be selected if fit. “That is categorically untrue,” Phil Hall, a club spokesman, said.