Premiership Clubs Vote In Favour Of Financial Fair Play And Salary Restrictions

West Ham co-owner David Gold has confirmed that the majority of Premier League clubs have voted in favour in bringing in spending controls including financial fair play and salary restrictions, according to Sky Sports News.

Last week it was reported that four of the League’s biggest clubs, namely Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool, had joined forces to submit a written demand to the FA asking for UEFA’s financial fair play rules to be introduced. The document, which was written on Arsenal headed paper and co-signed by the other three clubs, stated that the existing FFP proposal didn’t go far enough and that greater limitations should be placed on investment from owners and individuals.

It seems the quartet aren’t alone in feeling change is needed after a meeting today of the 20 Premier League clubs saw the majority back some form of financial restrictions, according to Gold:

“The clubs supported change.

“We’ve all voted and it was overwhelmingly supported. Some clubs are a little concerned, but the vast majority voted in favour.

“That will now go to the board for putting into rules, and we’ll vote on that in April.

“It’s not a salary cap, it’s a restraint on over-spending. If clubs increase their revenues then they can increase their spending. We have got restraint, that’s the important thing.” Gold told Sky Sports

14 of the 20 clubs were needed to back the proposals and it seems this figure has been achieved with the Premiership set to become the first top-flight league in Europe to introduce such restrictions.

The full details of what was agreed is expected to be announced on Thursday evening but the Mirror claim it’s expected to be less stringent than UEFA’s financial fair play scheme in that it will allow club owners to cover significant loses, but it is expected to force clubs to restrict how much they are allowed to increase their wage bills by.

The Mirror also claim the proposal discussed today allowed owners to cover losses up to £105m over a three-year period, which is a lot more than the £39m allowed under UEFA’s FFP rules, but at least it’s a positive step in the right direction.

While clubs such as Chelsea or Manchester City may not be fully behind the proposals, for obvious reasons, it’s difficult to deny they should be introduced for the greater good.

What are your thoughts of the introduction of financial restrictions in the Premier League? Get involved in the comments section below.