MPs want Premier League to introduce salary caps and scrap parachute payments

The financial impact of the coronavirus on football has been tremendous but at the same time, it has also forced the world to take a wider view at the problems that the smaller clubs face across Europe. More so in England, than across Europe which has seen many calls for the Premier League to help out more in order to bridge the gap. While that suggestion has fallen upon deaf ears, things are slowly set to change with Members of Parliament set to take serious action.

The Sunday Times has reported that a group of influential MPs are keen to make changes with their first move set to be targeted against parachute payments. This comes after EFL chairman Rick Parry called the payments “evil” despite it being present to help soften the financial impact of a club getting relegated back to the Championship. The Times has reported that a report created by the digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) select committee has asked the league to scrap the parachute payments and also look to introduce a salary cap.

“The crisis has shone a light on the culture of unfair pay in football. The decision by some Premier League clubs to furlough non-playing staff was deplorable, and we welcomed its reversal. Parachute payments must become a thing of the past, and considerable work must be done to advance work on salary caps,” reads the report reported the Times.

“The DCMS should engage with the Premier League and the EFL to learn lessons from abroad on policies such as salary caps, which may seem radical to those inside UK football, but seem to work well elsewhere.”

That is not their only goal, however, as the BBC has reported that the DCMS is also targeting improvements in women sports and are looking to bring in more representative of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups. Not only that, the BBC further reported that the DCMS report revealed that they’re set to support calls for the government to continue financially assisting sports until fans are back in the stadiums.