Fears over conflict of interest as Premier League executive takes over as interim FA chairman

[ASFN Admin]

Senior football figures warned of a potential conflict of interest at the Football Association on Wednesday night after a long-serving Premier League executive was hired as interim chairman. Peter McCormick takes over following Greg Clarke’s embarrassing resignation, despite continuing as chairman of the legal advisory group of England’s top tier. The FA on Wednesday night clarified that Mark Bullingham, the governing body chief executive, would oversee the FA’s “golden share” vote at Premier League meetings. However, FA Council figures expressed worries that the league’s stranglehold over the pyramid would tighten. “To appoint one of the Premier League reps to take over, I think, is a bad move politically,” said one senior council member. “I don’t think it sends out the right message.” Former FA chairman David Bernstein, who is currently campaigning for a new independent regulator, also said McCormick’s twin duties were “disturbing”. “In our recently issued manifesto, one of our key requirements is for greater independence in the game and particularly the FA,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “The appointment of an acting chairman, who has a long-term connection and involvement with the Premier League, is particularly disturbing. “The Football Association has had four independent chairmen and, even though this appointment is a temporary one, it would seem a step back when it is very important there are no vested interests involved in these important decisions.” McCormick, a popular figure in football who was awarded the OBE, is the first executive to have served as chairman at both the Premier League and the FA. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing against the FA Board, which was obliged in its own rules to appoint one of its two vice-chairs as an acting chair. McCormick serves as representative of the professional game, while Jack Pearce, the vice-chairman at Bognor Regis, represents the national game. Under FA rules, the only circumstances in which the board can appoint someone other than a vice-chair is where neither vice-chair is on the board. McCormick, the senior partner of McCormicks Solicitors of Harrogate, has a long career as a leading sports lawyer. He was Luis Suarez’s legal representative during the Patrice Evra race row. In 2014 he was appointed chairman of the Premier League and served in that role for 15 months, prior to Richard Scudamore’s combined appointment as executive chairman and chief executive.

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