If clubs make a hash of things it should be no business of ministers

When politicians interfere in sport it’s the mark of a Middle Eastern dictator with psychopathic sons or a Soviet bloc regime. But flushed with its success at saving the world’s banks, Labour is now promising to sort out professional football.

Its proposals include requiring clubs to give a chunk of shares to supporters’ trusts; giving fans the first option to bid if clubs are put up for sale; that the FA restructures its board and leagues be given powers to oversee takeovers.

Labour wants to give clubs back to communities; its ideal is the Spanish giant Barcelona, whose president and board are elected every four years. Fans want an end to clubs such as Portsmouth going into administration, crippling debts at Manchester United and Liverpool and mid-season chaos like that in the Blue Square Premier, where Chester’s collapse provoked expensive legal squabbles.

But government interference isn’t the answer…

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