The BBC were granted the opportunity to speak to FIFA president Sepp Blatter in Johannesburg, but could barely hear him over the broken record that kept playing.
The Swiss has launched yet another attack on the greatest league in the world, and this time his protestations are based around the fact that nine Premier League clubs have foreign owners:
“In France, Germany and Spain there are by-laws that say owners must be from the same country.
“This does not exist in the Premier League and it is a problem we must address.”
After suggesting a restriction on international economic trade within a free market - something that contravenes the conventions of capitalism and nowhere near the jurisdiction of FIFA - Blatter went on to win the “who can say ‘fair play’ the most” competition:
We have spoken before about financial fair play. Financial fair play is not only a licensing system and financing control but financing fair play means also that all participants should observe a minimum of fair play.
The Spoiler agrees with Blatter in principle: foreign ownership is becoming increasingly dangerous and clubs - like any other businesses - should not spend beyond their means.
However, the old goat’s hypocrisy is simply too much
Yesterday, the European Club Association (the latest incarnation of the G-14 super happy fun club) sat down to discuss capping the amount clubs can spend on wages and transfers.
In order to put a stop to the sort of insane transfers threaten to destabilise the game, the organisation proposed that clubs should only be allowed to spend around 51 per cent of their income (gate receipts, TV deals, sponsorship, player sales, over-priced hot dogs, etc).
This would mean clubs like Manchester City would have to build another three tiers of seats and at Eastlands and ensure everyone in Asia is drinking Garry Cook’s range of magical energy drinks if they wished to bankroll an astronomical Kaka bid.
It would also encourage better business models - many clubs spend a dangerously high proportion of their income on wages, which is a completely unsustainable method of running a business. Isn’t that so, Leeds Utd?
However, the proposal is a double-edged sword. If clubs were to rely solely on their earnings (and not the deep pockets of their sugar daddies) the temptation to charge even higher amounts for tickets, replica shirts and the aforementioned hot dogs would be huge.
And, at the end of the day, football is meant to be entertaining escape for us regular folks - capping outrageous player bids and ridiculous salaries would detract from the excitement and the incredulous circus that we call top flight European football.
So, should clubs be limited on their spending, or should we carry on the way things are? Let us know your thoughts with a vote and comment below…
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