UK lawmakers to probe debt at soccer clubs

LONDON (AP) -- British soccer will be investigated by a parliamentary inquiry following concerns about the high level of debt at Premier League clubs and the ownership troubles at Manchester United and Liverpool.

The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee will assess whether clubs should face government intervention and look at the regulations used by overseas leagues.

The legislators will examine the structures of the four soccer associations in Britain, with the English FA facing questions about its lack of leadership after the country's failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

The last British parliamentary inquiry into soccer in 2009 issued 27 recommendations and flagged up the "ludicrous levels of borrowing.''

But that all-party group lacked the power of this latest select committee inquiry, which can order the attendance of witnesses and has greater resources at its disposal.

A committee statement said that the "high-profile coverage of Liverpool and Manchester United'' was one of the triggers for the inquiry, while there are growing calls for fans to have a greater say in the running of clubs.

Manchester United was debt-free before a leveraged takeover by the American Glazer family in 2005, but now has liabilities exceeding $788 million and fan protests are evident at every match.

Liverpool had to go through a bitter court battle in October to force its Americans owners to relinquish control of the 18-time champions, after it too had acquired debts through a leveraged takeover.

"The Government has said that it will encourage the reform of football governance rules to support the cooperative ownership of football clubs by supporters, and there is widespread concern that the current governance arrangements are not fit-for-purpose,'' committee chairman John Whittingdale said in a statement. "Our inquiry will look at the case for strategic Government intervention and improved self-regulation and will consider models which involve supporters more in how clubs are run.''

The key questions the committee will consider are:

- Is there too much debt in the professional game?

- Are there lessons to be learned from governance models across Britain and abroad, and from other sports?

- What are the pros and cons of the Supporter Trust shareholding model?

The Premier League said it "recognized the importance of engaging in these types of inquiries'' and plans to use its evidence to detail recent strengthening of financial and ownership regulations.

"It is a welcome opportunity to highlight the numerous governance developments in our rule book over recent years, as well as enabling us to frame the challenges facing the game and how we might appropriately regulate them going forward,'' the league said in a statement.

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