“Unhelpfully vague”: Has the new Owners’ and Directors’ test outlined in the fan led review gone far enough to protect the Premier League from sportswashing?

There were hopes that the fan led review would outline new rules to prevent potential owners from sportswashing in English football, but Amnesty International have called the proposed new test ‘unhelpfully vague.’

There are concerns that giving the Premier League or an independent regulator the power to make discretionary judgements over a person’s character may lead to controversy and even litigation.

Other areas of football, including Liverpool Football Club, have already incorporated references to human rights and slavery in their corporate governance. The Premier League could do the same.

Legal experts can’t agree how the rules should be installed. There are fears of litigations if the rules are not “tight” enough, but others argue that it these governance rules should be respected because the Premier League is a private company.