Yahoo News Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe backs up Nassef Sawiris on major issue as he warns of 'ruin'
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has joined Nassef Sawiris in criticising the Premier League’s financial rules.
Aston Villa co-owner Sawiris launched an attack on the profit and sustainability rules earlier this month, with the Financial Times claiming he was seeking legal advice on whether to lodge a formal complaint against the Premier League's PSR rules. “Some of the rules have actually resulted in cementing the status quo more than creating upward mobility and fluidity in the sport,” he told the Financial Times. “The rules do not make sense and are not good for football.”
He added: "Managing a sports team has become more like being a treasurer or a bean counter rather than looking at what your team needs. It’s more about creating paper profits, not real profits. It becomes a financial game, not a sporting game."
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In an interview with Bloomberg, Ratcliffe has now warned the Premier League faces “ruin” if regulation goes too far.
Champions Manchester City are suing the league over its associated party transaction (APT) rules, which are designed to ensure commercial deals linked to a club’s ownership are done for fair market value. While Nottingham Forest and Everton were both deducted points during last season for breaching the Premier League ’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
City also face a hearing in the autumn charged with 115 breaches of Premier League rules, which could result in sanctions. Ratcliffe said the Premier League needed to be “careful” not to end up in “an endless legal wrangle with lots of clubs”.
He said: “The Premier League is probably the most successful sporting league in the world, certainly the most successful football league in the world. And we have this expression in northern England: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’
“If you start interfering too much, bringing too much regulation in, then you finish up with the Manchester City issue, you finish up with the Everton issue, you finish up with the Nottingham Forest issue – on and on and on.
“If you’re not careful the Premier League is going to finish up spending more time in court than it is thinking about what’s good for the league. We have got the best league in the world, don’t ruin that league for heaven’s sake.”
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