Premier League chief Richard Masters gets Nottingham Forest request amid points deduction threat

Premier League CEO Richard Masters

Richard Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive, has been asked by the chair of the UK Government’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS) to clarify his comment about Everton and Nottingham Forest being a “small club.” The remark was made during a DCMS Select Committee hearing last week when Masters appeared in front of its members.

Dame Caroline Dinenage, the Member of Parliament for Gosport, wrote to Masters asking: “I would be grateful if you could clarify what criteria the Premier League uses to classify ‘small clubs’ and which clubs it regards as small.” Masters came under fire for the comment in the wake of charges brought against Everton and Nottingham Forest for alleged breaches of financial fair play rules.

“I understand the issue and I try to separate the two in the sense that those standard directions are for everybody, they’re not just for the small clubs,” Masters said. “If anybody was found to be in breach and put forward their PSR [Profit and Sustainability Rules] calculation that was above the threshold, then we’d be doing the exact same thing on the exact same timeframe.”

Both Everton and Forest have been referred to an independent commission with the former set for a second appearance at a hearing over FFP charges having already been hit with a ten-point deduction last year, plunging Sean Dyche’s side into a potential relegation battle this season. “Nottingham Forest acknowledges the statement from the Premier League confirming that the club has today been charged with a breach of the league’s profitability and sustainability Rules,” a statement said.

“The club intends to continue to cooperate fully with the Premier League on this matter and are confident of a speedy and fair resolution.” Dame Caroline has now written formally to Masters and in a press release issued on Friday outlined her concern with the phrase ‘small clubs’.

“Richard Masters’ implication that nine-times league title winners Everton and double European Cup winners Nottingham Forest are ‘small clubs’ will have raised eyebrows with fans,” Dame Caroline said. “To suggest clubs are categorised according to size raises wider questions about whether every member of the league truly does receive treatment that is fair and consistent.

“Equally puzzling was his insistence that the charges and punishment regime is entirely independent of the Premier League, when there is documentary evidence of an attempt to move the goalposts with a proposal for a structured policy for sanctions. If Mr Masters was a referee, the VAR control room may well now be having a word in his ear to look again at his evidence to the committee.

“Overall, given what we heard last week from both the Premier League and EFL, it now seems more important than ever that the Government gets on with establishing the independent football regulator that can step in to safeguard the health of the game beyond the monied world of the top flight.”

*An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.