Richard Masters (football)

Richard Masters is the current Chief Executive of the highest tier of association football in England, the Premier League.

Richard Masters
Born
Richard Masters
NationalityBritish
EducationSolihull School
Alma materUniversity College London
OccupationChief Executive at The Premier League

Biography

In his personal life, Richard Masters has two young sons.[1]

Masters' education consisted of attending Solihull School in Solihull, which led to him identifying as an Aston Villa supporter.[2] He later studied Economics and Geography (BSC) at University College London.[3]

Earlier in his career, he was the Marketing Manager for England and Wales Cricket Board from 1994 to 2000, before serving as Commercial Director for the English Football League from 2001 to 2006. He moved to the Premier League in 2006 where he became the Director of Sales and Marketing, holding the position from January 2006 until November 2018.[3]

Premier League

Richard Masters was appointed as the Chief Executive of the Premier League in November 2019,[3] following a year-long interim period in the position after the previous incumbent Richard Scudamore's resignation in December 2018.[4] Masters' role of Chief Executive was created after Richard Scudamore's Executive Chairman role was split into the two roles of Chief Executive and Chairman following Scudamore's resignation.[5] Whilst Gary Hoffman was appointed as the new Chairman on 24 April 2020,[5] Masters retains authority as holding the highest position at the Premier League, with his other responsibilities including leading negotiations on new media rights contracts, resolving club disputes and ownership issues, and overseeing operations.[6]

Masters was the Premier League's fourth choice for the role, following a protracted recruitment process that involved Susanna Dinnage, Tim Davie and David Pemsel all being offered, but later declining the position.[7][6] There were accusations that the biggest teams in the Premier League held too much influence over the process, with Liverpool and Manchester United alleged to have held private talks with candidates chosen by the Premier League's official nominating committee, before deciding whether or not to enact their unofficial veto over the decision.[6]

Coronavirus Crisis

On 13 March 2020, due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, Premier League fixtures were suspended by Masters following a meeting with the League's shareholders.[8] Despite widespread calls to abandon the season, and the abandonment of equivalent foreign leagues such as Ligue 1, Eredivisie and Belgian First Division A, Masters enacted "Project Restart", a plan to safely restart Premier League fixtures on 17 June and finish the season on 26 July.[9] This was to be achieved through strict safety protocols, such as extensive cleaning and staff testing at club training grounds, alongside zonal systems for areas of access and no fan attendance at match-day grounds.[10] Rule changes were also voted upon during meetings with club shareholders, including the introduction of water breaks in the middle of each half, as well as the increase from three substitutes per match to five in order to minimize player fatigue and consequent injury.[11] The Premier League season was successfully completed on 26 July, as per the original plan conceived by Masters and the shareholders.[12]

On 9 September 2020, Masters told the BBC that it was "absolutely critical" for fans to be allowed back into stadiums to watch Premier League matches as soon as possible, as Premier League clubs stood to suffer £700m in lost revenue if the 2020-2021 season (running from 12 September 2020 to 23 May 2021) was played behind closed doors.[13] However, on 22 September 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that spectators would continue to be banned from attending all sporting events in England until the end of March 2021, at the earliest.[14]

Newcastle United Takeover

On 14 April 2020, it emerged that a request to undertake the Premier League’s Owner and Director’s Test had been filed by a consortium consisting of Amanda Staveley's firm PCP Capital Partners, Reuben Brothers and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), as the final stage of their £300m bid to purchase ownership of Newcastle United from Mike Ashley.[15] It was widely anticipated that it would take around four weeks for Masters and the Premier League to deliver a decision on the test, owing to the record of previous tests.[16] However, on 14 July 2020, a senior employee at Newcastle United told The Athletic that the ongoing delay to the Premier League’s making a decision was causing uncertainty for the club and consequently substantial damage to Newcastle United’s long-term planning.[17] When asked for an update at various intervals by members of the media and MPs, Masters refused to give any comment or time-frame for the ongoing process.[18]

On 30 July 2020 the consortium pulled out of the buying process, citing the unforeseen delay and refusal of Richard Masters to communicate a time-frame for the Owner’s and Director’s Test decision as a result causing their acquisition of Newcastle United to become untenable, particularly given their contract of sale with seller Mike Ashley had lapsed.[19][20] The buyers also claimed that geopolitical interference from Qatar, as well as influential Premier League clubs lobbying against the takeover due to fear of increased competition, had caused Masters to purposely avoid either approving the deal or issuing a rejection that could be appealed.[20][21]

After the buyers pulled out, Newcastle United fans reacted with outrage, with 97% of the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) having been in favor of the takeover owing to the consortium’s plans to invest heavily in to the club and surrounding communities.[22] Newcastle United fans started a petition, calling for a government investigation into Richard Masters and the Premier League’s conduct due to their perceived lack of transparency and integrity; it gained more than 110,000 signatures.[23] In addition, over eighty MPs,[24] and the Independent Football Ombudsman (IFO)[25] wrote to Masters demanding transparency on the process of Newcastle United’s subjection to the Owner’s and Director’s test. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, further urged Masters and the Premier League that "there must be clarity on why there was a significant delay in a decision being made."[25]

On 14 August 2020, Masters issued his first public statement on Newcastle United's taking of the Premier League's Owner's and Director's test, stating in a reply to MP Chi Onwurah that the Premier League had deemed there to be an insufficient legal separation between the PIF and the Saudi state, and that the consortium had declined the Premier League's offer of independent arbitration on the matter. He also denied claims of third-party influence on the process.[18] The consortium responded that arbitration would already be available to them after the Premier League had delivered its overall decision and that undergoing arbitration before the Premier League's overall decision was a highly irregular procedure. They also claimed that the Premier League's desire to undertake an arbitration process, which has taken over a year to complete in previous instances, for one individual aspect of the Owner's and Director's Test was demonstrative of the Premier League's reluctance to deliver a final decision.[24][26]

On 9 September 2020, Newcastle United released a statement which apparently confirmed that the Premier League had finally officially rejected the buying consortium's proposed takeover of Newcastle United through the consortium's failing of the Premier League's Owner's and Director's Test. Furthermore, the club's statement advised that "this conclusion has been reached despite the club providing the Premier League with overwhelming evidence and legal opinions that PIF is independent and autonomous of the Saudi Arabian government. The club and its owners do not accept that Premier League chief executive Richard Masters and the Premier League have acted appropriately in relation to this matter and will be considering all relevant options available to them."[27][28] However, on 10 September 2020, the Premier League responded with a statement which defended the actions of Masters and the Premier League, and advised that "the club's assertion that the Premier League has rejected the takeover is incorrect".[29] According to various media reports, these statements were the result of shuttle diplomacy conducted by elements of the UK government between the buying consortium and Richard Masters, which continued informal communications even after the official withdrawal of the buying consortium's bid. During these informal communications, the offer of further concessions from the buying consortium had been rejected by Richard Masters and the Premier League.[23][29] On 14 September 2020, Blackstone Chambers announced that they had appointed Nick De Marco QC and Shaheed Fatima QC to represent Newcastle United in the club's legal action against the Premier League.[30]

References
  1. "How will new Premier League chief executive Richard Masters reshape football". New Statesman. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  2. "The Aston Villa fan with the biggest Premier League job of all". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  3. "Richard Masters Chief Executive at the Premier League". LinkdIn. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  4. "Richard Scudamore to stand down as Premier League executive chairman". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  5. "Premier League names Gary Hoffman as chair". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  6. "The Long Search to Fill Soccer's Biggest, Toughest Job". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  7. "Premier League chief executive Richard Masters given job on permanent basis". BBC. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  8. "Premier League, FA, EFL and WSL have collectively agreed to postpone the professional game in England". Premier League. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  9. "Premier League set to restart on 17 June with Man City v Arsenal and Villa v Sheff Utd". BBC. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  10. "BCD guide: Before the match". Premier League. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  11. "Premier League: Five substitutes approved for rest of 2019-20 season". BBC. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  12. "Winners and losers as Premier League's 352-day season ends". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  13. "Premier League chief Richard Masters says it is 'absolutely critical' fans return". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  14. "Coronavirus: Fans may not be able to return to sporting events until at least end of March". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  15. "Newcastle United takeover deal worth £300m close". BBC. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  16. "Explained: What is football's fit and proper person test?". The Athletic. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  17. "The limbo takeover: A boa constrictor around Newcastle's necks". The Athletic. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  18. "Newcastle takeover: Premier League CEO Richard Masters breaks silence over Saudi-led deal". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  19. "Newcastle takeover: Full statement from PIF, Amanda Staveley and Reuben Brothers as proposed bid fails". The Independent. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  20. "Amanda Staveley: The Premier League made it so hard. Impossible. It's ridiculous". The Athletic. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  21. "'The gloves were off' then the deal was off: Why Newcastle's takeover collapsed". The Athletic. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  22. "Newcastle takeover: Supporters' Trust wants Premier League 'transparency' on deal collapse". BBC. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  23. "Newcastle takeover: Approval was expected on Tuesday. Fury followed on Wednesday". The Athletic. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  24. "Explained: the Premier League's letter about Newcastle's failed takeover". The Athletic. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  25. "Newcastle: Boris Johnson backs calls for Premier League statement on failed takeover". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  26. "Newcastle United takeover saga continues after Premier League letter that 'does not change anything'". The Independent. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  27. "Club statement". Newcastle United. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  28. "Newcastle say Premier League did not 'act appropriately' in blocking takeover". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  29. "Newcastle United's pointed statement came after fresh attempt to push through Saudi-led takeover". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  30. "Newcastle hire lawyers in dispute with Premier League over failed Saudi-led takeover". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
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