Football needs regulator to avoid another Chelsea crisis – Culture Secretary

Football needs an independent regulator to avoid a repeat of what has happened at Chelsea and other clubs, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has said.

Dorries told MPs on Thursday that the Government is committed to bringing forward legislation to create a new regulator “very soon”.

An independent regulator was one of the recommendations of the fan-led review published last November, with further detail on the regulator’s remit set to be included in a white paper coming out in the summer.

We've reached a pivotal point with football. There can be no more Macclesfields, no more Derbys and no more Chelseas- Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries

Dorries warned those who oppose an independent regulator that one was definitely coming, and told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee: “We’ve reached a pivotal point with football.

“There can be no more Macclesfields, no more Derbys and no more Chelseas. We need a fit and proper person test for owners of football clubs. And it is happening. (Opponents of a regulator) may not like it but it’s happening.”

The Government must issue a new licence allowing the sale of Chelsea to be permitted, replacing the one it imposed on the club in March which allowed them to continue to operate under strict conditions after owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned.

The Russian billionaire’s assets were frozen, with Downing Street claiming to have proven his links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The current licence expires on May 31. Lawyers for Abramovich and the Government are understood to remain in talks about how to handle the Stamford Bridge club’s £1.5billion debt to the Chelsea owner, with the Government understood to be seeking legally binding assurances that Abramovich