tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/liverpool-fc-36061/articlesLiverpool FC – The Conversation2024-01-30T16:53:08Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2221142024-01-30T16:53:08Z2024-01-30T16:53:08ZHow Jürgen Klopp reconnected Liverpool FC with Shankly’s socialist soul<p>In his first press conference after arriving at Anfield in 2015, Jürgen Klopp <a href="https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1224366407757987840?lang=en">stated</a>: “It’s not so important what people think when you come in. It’s much more important what people think when you leave.” </p>
<p>After nine years, his words resonate through the hearts of Liverpool FC fans. On January 26, Klopp <a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/jurgen-klopp-announces-decision-step-down-liverpool-manager-end-season">announced</a> that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.</p>
<p>Klopp has given Liverpool fans many memories to cherish. In 2019, his side staged a miraculous comeback against Barcelona on the way to lifting the Champion’s League trophy in Madrid. The following year, he ended Liverpool’s 30-year wait for a Premier League title.</p>
<p>Klopp inherited a Liverpool squad without any promising potential and a board that lacked vision and desire. Between 2010 and 2015, Liverpool had won just a single trophy – the League Cup in 2012. </p>
<p>However, Klopp delivered his first elite European trophy within three years of being appointed. From that point onward, he’s gone on to win all major trophies, guide Liverpool to four major European finals, and lose out on two Premier League titles by a single point. </p>
<p>Klopp will leave a legacy similar to that of Liverpool’s iconic manager, Bill Shankly. Between 1959 and 1974, Shankly transformed the club from second-division obscurity to three-time English champions and winners of the Uefa cup (Europe’s second-rank club competition). </p>
<p>Shankly endeared himself to fans of Liverpool FC, a club with deep working-class roots, by embracing the ethos of socialism (where individuals work together as a collective) as a fundamental principle for team success. Klopp’s persona as a man of the people – through his style, attitude and background – also strongly resonates with Liverpool’s socialist roots and blue collar community.</p>
<p>For instance, Klopp insists that every Liverpool player must <a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/liverpool-anfield-sign-norwich-jordan-18924539">earn the right</a> to touch the famous “This is Anfield” sign by winning silverware. The iconic Anfield sign was first hung up on the wall of the player’s tunnel by Shankly to remind opponents of the spirit of Anfield.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Jürgen Klopp announcing he will leave Liverpool FC at the end of the season.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Socialist Spirit</h2>
<p>Klopp has never sought to create a hierarchy between himself, the players and the fans. Early on in his tenure, he referred to himself as “<a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/238155-the-normal-one">the normal one</a>” and has, on several occasions, been spotted sharing a drink with local people in the pub. In his press conferences, Klopp has often said that the team drew <a href="https://www.football365.com/news/klopp-on-cl-inspiration-we-do-it-for-carol-and-caroline">inspiration</a> from the staff at the club’s training ground.</p>
<p>Since his appointment, Klopp has also recognised the power of Liverpool fans, referring to them as the 12th man responsible for supplying energy to the squad. As Anfield reverberates today with the chant “I am so glad that Jurgen is a red”, the echoes of such intense emotions are a reminder for loyal Liverpool supporters of a legacy still sung about around half a century later.</p>
<p>Klopp has brought the same fiery socialist spirit back to Liverpool that Shankly managed to harness in the 1960s. Two managers separated by generations but bound as Merseyside icons who understood that success stems from people.</p>
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<h2>Engaging with the fans</h2>
<p>Like Shankly before him, Klopp has resurrected Liverpool by understanding what the club’s fans craved more than silverware – someone who embodies the club’s working-class soul. A leader to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with through good times and bad. </p>
<p>From Klopp’s iconic fist pumps after victories, to his <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11635563/Humiliated-Jurgen-Klopp-apologises-Liverpools-travelling-fans-Brighton-defeat.html">meaningful apologies</a> to fans during times of crisis, show his authentic relationship with the club and the fanbase. He celebrates goals in nerve-wracking victories by running up and down the sideline (once <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/37638431/when-goal-celebrations-go-bad-liverpool-boss-jurgen-klopp-pulls-hamstring">pulling his hamstring</a> in the process). And he openly <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11635563/Humiliated-Jurgen-Klopp-apologises-Liverpools-travelling-fans-Brighton-defeat.html">asked supporters for forgiveness</a> after a humbling 3–0 defeat by Brighton in 2023. </p>
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<p>Klopp’s outgoing authenticity has also resonated powerfully with Liverpool supporters around the world. He actively embraces fan media like “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theredmentv">The Redmen TV</a>” YouTube channel, and makes an effort to appear in person for interviews and podcasts. He even once wrote a letter to a young fan reassuring him over his feelings of personal anxiety.</p>
<h2>Revolutionary vision</h2>
<p>When Shankly was appointed in 1959, he was frustrated with Liverpool’s training regime and facilities. Previously, players had become accustomed to running on the street as part of their training routine. However, Shankly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/the-agony-and-the-ecstasy/2018/dec/01/liverpool-boot-room-throw-in-jurgen-klopp-bill-shankly">revamped the training regime</a>, introducing sessions on the training ground where players could run and practice while wearing appropriate football boots.</p>
<p>In a similar way to Shankly, Klopp has helped the club evolve. He insisted on building modern training facilities where the youth academy could be integrated with the first team, and played a part in the development of the club’s new training ground.</p>
<p>Liverpool’s managing director Andy Hughes <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11669/12134609/liverpool-boss-jurgen-klopp-delighted-with-new-kirkby-training-ground">praised</a> the combined efforts of Klopp, sporting director Michael Edwards and academy director Alex Inglethorpe for their “instrumental role” in creating the new facility. </p>
<p>Klopp’s legacy at Anfield, in the Premier League and in modern football, is beyond doubt. As was the case for Shankly’s successor, Bob Paisley, the next Liverpool manager certainly has big boots to fill.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ronnie is an avid Liverpool FC fan and has carried out research into transforming management practices in English football.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wasim Ahmed does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool with a remarkably similar legacy to the club’s iconic manager, Bill Shankly.Ronnie Das, Associate Professor in Digital and Data Science, AudenciaWasim Ahmed, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1871832022-07-19T13:50:15Z2022-07-19T13:50:15ZSuperstars Sadio Mané and Mo Salah eclipse African football at home<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474624/original/file-20220718-51582-f7agqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sadio Mané (left) with Mohamed Salah in 2018 when both played for Liverpool. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Senegal’s <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.co.za/sadio-mane/profil/spieler/200512">Sadio Mané</a> has beaten Egypt’s <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.co.za/mohamed-salah/profil/spieler/148455">Mo Salah</a> and the <a href="https://www.cafonline.com/awards/nominees">other </a>nine players nominated for the African Footballer of the Year <a href="https://www.si.com/fannation/soccer/futbol/news/african-footballer-of-the-year-mo-salah-and-sadio-mane-nominated#:%7E:text=Sadio%20Mane%20and%20four%20current,due%20to%20the%20COVID%20pandemic">prize</a> at this year’s <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/22/sadio-mane-asisat-oshoala-win-african-player-of-the-year-awards">Caf Awards</a> held by the Confederation of African Football in Rabat, Morocco. </p>
<p>Both Mané and Salah – the clear favourites – rose to global prominence playing for Liverpool in the <a href="https://www.premierleague.com">English Premier League</a>, propelling the club to three champions league finals and winning a title. Both have won Caf player of the year before, Salah twice in 2017 and 2018, and Mané once in 2019. Now Mané has evened the score at 2-2.</p>
<p>Star forwards, their pursuits on the field are the stuff of fame and constant headlines. Mané grew up in the village of Bambali, Senegal and began his professional career at 19. Salah was born in Basyoun, Egypt and was also a football-loving child. He signed his first contract with a local club at 14. As African players shine in Europe, they are at the front of the changing face of international football.</p>
<p>There are thousands of African players like them, born and raised in humble circumstances with football offering a rare escape from poverty. Each of these players aspires to hold trophies in their hands. While Salah and Mané pave the way, the constant media attention on the exploits of African players in Europe tends to downplay the heroic exploits of African-based stars in national leagues and Pan African club competitions. </p>
<p>This lack of visibility could create an impression that top class football is played only in Europe. While Mané and Salah brought headlines to the 2022 prize, there are several other awards on the night that help highlight the talent working at home.</p>
<h2>Mané or Salah?</h2>
<p>Mané is now reigning Caf player of the year since 2019 as the COVID pandemic and schedule changes postponed it for two years. Having recently joined Bayern Munich in Germany from Liverpool in the UK, he is one of several Africans playing in the English Premier League who made the 2022 shortlist. In fact five of the ten do.</p>
<p>All along Mané was the favourite to win again this year after leading Senegal to <a href="https://theconversation.com/afcon-demands-global-respect-opens-a-new-chapter-for-african-football-176552">glory</a> for the first time at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in February. The country also qualified for the <a href="https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022">World Cup Qatar 2022</a>. Mané was voted best player of Afcon. </p>
<p>However, Salah also had strong credentials. A great season saw him <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/news/liverpool-salah-premier-league-playmaker-of-the-season-most/blt1bad52738fbe5f90">win</a> top scorer and player with the most goal assists in the Premier League. He was the Professional Footballers’ Association and Player Writer’s <a href="https://theathletic.com/news/mohamed-salah-pfa-player-of-the-year/swwwqT7riQhP/">footballer of the year</a>, beating Mané. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/afcon-demands-global-respect-opens-a-new-chapter-for-african-football-176552">Afcon demands global respect, opens a new chapter for African football</a>
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<p>But given the fact that this award is for a player who best represents African football, it would have been an upset if Mané’s national accomplishments at Afcon had not prevailed over the individual accolades for Salah.</p>
<h2>The other contenders</h2>
<p>While Mané and Salah were standout candidates, flying below the radar for CAF’s male footballer of the year was Senegal and Chelsea goalkeeper <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.us/edouard-mendy/erfolge/spieler/442531">Edouard Mendy</a>. This season he was in the winning teams at the FIFA Club World Cup, AFCON and the UEFA Supercup. He was <a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/chelsea/news/official-chelseas-edouard-mendy-named-the-best-fifa-goalkeeper-for-2021">World’s Best Goalkeeper</a> in 2021. Although goalkeeping is not a high profile position, Mendy’s performance credentials made him a favourite. Had he won he would have been only the third goalkeeper to do so and the first since 1986.</p>
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<span class="caption">Al Ahly’s South African coach Pitso Mosimane missed out on best coach award.</span>
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<p>The English Premier League dominated the shortlist when it comes to clubs, but when it comes to countries Senegal came out on top with three players. Cameroon had two and Egypt, Morocco, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and Algeria each had one. Geographically speaking, West and Central Africa edged out North Africa. Despite Ghana, Nigeria, Tunisia and South Africa having a high sporting profile, they are nowhere on the list.</p>
<h2>African clubs miss out</h2>
<p>The last time an African-based player won player of the year was Egypt’s <a href="https://africanfootball.com/news/782134/Honouring-the-great-Mahmoud-El-Khatib">Mahmoud El Khatib</a>. The last four decades have witnessed a complete transformation in the African football and global football landscapes. Most African stars ply their trade in Europe where they are paid millions of dollars. It’s hard for an African club to house a player that can replicate El Khatib’s accomplishment. It is regrettable that excelling in Europe increasingly provides a more compelling case to be voted a CAF player of the year.</p>
<p>However, there were <a href="https://www.cafonline.com/press-release/news/caf-release-star-studded-final-shortlist-for-caf-awards-2022-in-men-s-categories">seven other categories</a> at the CAF awards that offered better chances for African-based nominees to <a href="https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/news/articles/international/categories/african-football/all-2022-caf-award-winners-revealed/720940">win</a>. These included coach of the year to Aliou Cissé, Senegal for best national team and trophies for best club and interclub players.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-four-big-challenges-facing-patrice-motsepe-africas-new-soccer-boss-157015">The four big challenges facing Patrice Motsepe, Africa's new soccer boss</a>
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<p>A Caf award sets winners apart as all time greats to be talked about for generations; it sets up contracts and financial opportunities. Even as Mané and Salah attracted the lion’s share of the headlines, one should remember that many more talented players are waiting in the wings – but they will require identifying and nurturing. Caf, national football associations and African clubs have an obligation to invest in and unearth this talent while also celebrating their stars.</p>
<p><em>This article was updated to reflect the results of the awards</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187183/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wycliffe W. Njororai Simiyu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Caf African Player of the Year is named on 21 July – but it’s only one of eight trophies being handed out.Wycliffe W. Njororai Simiyu, Professor, Health and Kinesiology, University of Texas at TylerLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1841822022-06-01T15:17:06Z2022-06-01T15:17:06ZPanic, horror and chaos: what went wrong at the Champions League final – and what needs to be done to make football safer<p><em>Daniel Silverstone, a professor of criminology and an expert in policing studies, attended the Champion’s League final in Paris and witnessed chaotic scenes. Here, he and Jan Ludvigsen examine what the latest research can tell us about how to tackle an issue that continues to bring football – and the authorities that police it – into disrepute.</em></p>
<p>I was one of those unlucky Liverpool fans, caught up in the middle of the chaos battling to enter the stadium’s gate Y <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61633840">at the Stade de France</a> in Paris on Saturday. As I left the match, I saw a Liverpool fan who had already been pepper-sprayed chased by a French police officer, despite his colleagues urging him not to. The fan was then hit from behind on the back of his head with a wooden baton.</p>
<p>Panic, horror and chaos. These are just some of the words that have been used to describe the events that occurred during what became a memorable night for all the wrong reasons in the French capital. Security and safety issues continue to trouble football and the world’s other biggest sporting events and repeatedly become the key talking point once the final whistle blows.</p>
<p>I went to watch Liverpool take on Real Madrid with my sister, brother and a family friend. Like all Liverpool fans we had been looking forward to the culmination of exciting season. But the excitement soon turned to fear when we realised that we were getting caught up in something that was beyond our control. We were getting crushed outside gate Y, jostling with security to prevent them from closing the gate on us. <a href="https://theathletic.com/3330768/2022/05/30/liverpool-champions-league-gas/">Similar scenes</a> were also reported outside gates X and B.</p>
<p>I had flashbacks to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/may/31/champions-league-paris-final-fiasco-triggers-hillsborough-survivor-trauma">Hillsborough</a>, the stadium disaster on April 15 1989 which resulted in the tragic deaths of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jul/28/liverpool-fans-death-ruled-as-97th-victim-of-hillsborough-disaster">97 Liverpool fans</a>. I remember watching dazed fans, numb from shock, on the television. In Paris, I thought history was about to repeat itself. We all felt a sense of dread. A brief, intense moment that we couldn’t breathe and that we might not make it. Somehow, a much anticipated, post-COVID joyous family event had suddenly switched to what felt like a family fight for survival. </p>
<p>Luckily – and miraculously – everyone survived that night in Paris. And it was only when we managed to get to our seats that we realised how our experience was not uncommon. In front of us were disgruntled fans who had arrived at 6.30pm and endured two hours of queuing. All around us were empty seats of Liverpool fans who hadn’t made it in. And behind us, the one fan who arrived just before half time. He was pale after being tear-gassed. </p>
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<p><strong><em>This story is part of Conversation Insights</em></strong>
<br><em>The Insights team generates <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218">long-form journalism</a> and is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects to tackle societal and scientific challenges.</em></p>
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<p>Paris now needs to be a catalyst for how authorities consider issues of security at football events. I have been working as an academic for decades and <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/news/articles/2019/11/7/researcher-gains-national-coverage">recently</a> as a director of a Centre of Policing Studies. Ironically, one of my most recent pre-COVID assignments was organising – in conjunction with Merseyside Police – the delivery of human rights based training in Liverpool to Qatari police ahead of the <a href="https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022">World Cup</a>. My colleague Jan – who followed the final from his home in Liverpool – is a sociologist who actively researches and has <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/staff-profiles/faculty-of-arts-professional-and-social-studies/humanities-and-social-science/jan-ludvigsen">published extensively</a> on the relationship between sport mega-events, security and football fans. Mine and Jan’s backgrounds therefore enable us to provide reflections on what happened in Paris and, crucially, what needs to be done in the future. </p>
<h2>Mixed messages</h2>
<p>Before anyone really knew what was happening in Paris, fans were being blamed. Broadcasters announced that the match, which was due to kick off at 9pm local time, was delayed by 36 minutes. As displayed on the stadium’s giant screens, this was, in UEFA’s own words, due to the “<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/champions-league-kick-off-time-delayed-liverpool-b2089608.html">late arrival</a>” of fans. Yet, the fact was many Liverpool fans were at the stadium hours before kick-off and reports and footage began emerging on social media showing dangerous queues, closed gates near the turnstiles, the use of tear-gas by French police and a general sense of desperation spreading among supporters, families and media reporters outside the stadium gates. </p>
<p>Liverpool FC were quick to announce that the club would request a formal investigation into the causes of the <a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/liverpool-fc-statement-ucl-final-entry-issues">security issues</a> and they have subsequently encouraged fans to <a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/lfc-asks-fans-share-champions-league-final-experiences">share their experiences</a>. UEFA also confirmed that they have commissioned an independent report that will investigate the <a href="https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/mediaservices/mediareleases/news/0275-15451c8c7dc9-51932d4946d5-1000--uefa-commissions-independent-report-into-events-surrounding-uef/">events surrounding the final</a>. </p>
<p>But French authorities have remained adamant that the issues were caused by ticketless fans and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61630201">counterfeit tickets</a> – this claim has been <a href="https://twitter.com/JacobsBen/status/1531236221640495104">heavily contested</a>. Unusually though, in this digital age, many fans were allocated paper tickets. What affect that had on the claims of fake ticketing is, as yet, unclear.</p>
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<p>France – and Paris specifically – is not a newcomer when it comes to staging large-scale events and internationally significant football fixtures. In 2016, the city hosted another UEFA event, the European Championship in men’s football, while the country was in a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36089675">state of emergency</a> following a series of terrorist attacks in November 2015, including suicide bombers who <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723518797028?casa_token=6bjjPDdUvOsAAAAA%3A0AxeFY1Crc4xaZp5QSy2OaxD1FbYva1UxMLBOE02Jma7-Rj3S6d2_120diaCB8Q0MLaTd-UmreI#">struck outside</a> the Stade De France after failing to get past the stadium entry. Sadly, Euro 2016 was also disrupted by violence, disorder and clashes between <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36515575">fans and the police</a>.</p>
<p>But this is not just a French problem. There is no doubt that the UK is fighting its own security battles, as the upsurge in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/may/30/pitch-invasions-cannot-continue-warns-efl-chief-as-talks-on-sanctions-loom">pitch invasions</a> in recent weeks show. And there was also a major <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/euro-2020-final-where-ticketless-fans-breached-wembley-stadium-security-before-england-v-italy-match-12354458">security breach</a> at Wembley Stadium for the Euro 2020 (held in 2021) final, where ticketless fans managed to break through the security barriers and turnstiles and gained access to the stadium.</p>
<p>Months later, in January 2022, a crush at the Olembé Stadium in Cameroon during the Africa Cup of Nations tragically resulted <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-60120367">in eight deaths</a>. All of which adds to the mounting evidence that the problem of security and safety in football is getting worse.</p>
<h2>Communication is key</h2>
<p>Research into <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article-abstract/52/2/381/504814">football policing</a> suggests that the absence of communication and dialogue between police and crowds are two factors that can contribute to the escalation of disorder. As Jan’s <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01937235211043650#_i4">research</a> underlines, there must be mutual respect and understanding between fans and those responsible for security.</p>
<p>One of the reasons for this is that the policing of football matches is highly complex – both on the ground on match days, but also in its pre-planning lead up to the fixtures. The policing of fans is also not limited to the stadium rings. Large numbers of ticketless fans travel to sporting events and choose to attend <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1012690219894888?casa_token=1HYdb6_2pSYAAAAA%3AKkPlvFjaPhcnfhMq51QUz543oRkKeEu4UwGECfUeJzcncTZd6UmfzV_7LFlUM8lU4yN5TpwSU2g">fan zones</a> or other public viewing events. To account for this, Jan’s <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Sport-Mega-Events-Security-and-COVID-19-Securing-the-Football-World/Ludvigsen/p/book/9781032192734">recently published book shows</a> how major sporting event security relies much upon the transfer of so-called “best practices” that migrate from event to event. These processes are aided by a European-wide security networks consisting of diverse stakeholders, such as law-enforcement, governing bodies, national associations and organised fan networks.</p>
<p>Before the final in May, Merseyside Police would have provided the French authorities with a “closed briefing” of what and whom to expect along with other risk assessments. They would have also sent a team of “spotters” to work with Spanish and French police. According to a former crowd safety and security adviser at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium, this briefing ought to have included an appraisal of the usual problems such as fans without tickets, drunken supporters and fake tickets. A joint session between the two French police forces, the Gendermarie and the Compagnies républicaines de sécurité (CRS), with the British police and UEFA would have also gone through a complete run through of the event. </p>
<h2>Information for travelling fans</h2>
<p>Open-source intelligence work would have shown UEFA and relevant authorities the numbers of fans to be expected as all flights and trains from the UK to Paris were fully booked weeks in advance of the final. So, the authorities had plenty of time to put in place a communication strategy for arriving fans. This should have included both instruction on how to enter and exit the stadium safely and advice that fans should be careful of their personal safety within the local area in the immediate vicinity of the stadium when they were leaving the game. Instead, indications of what awaited – and perhaps what to expect – emerged in the fixture’s build up, when it was reported that fans wearing club colours in the area around the Champs Elysees could risk a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/liverpool-paris-champions-league-police-fines-b2089039.html">fine from the French police</a>. So no warnings, no information – just punitive action.</p>
<p>Football fans are comprised of a diverse social group, and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723519881202#_i11">research shows</a> that many supporters expect and even welcome security when they go to a game. And that seems to have increased since big sporting events increasingly became targets for acts of terrorism, supporter violence and urban crime. </p>
<h2>A charged atmosphere</h2>
<p>And with elite football comes mass crowds, rendering potential issues of overcrowding a very real risk. So fans are alive to these dangers, and appreciate that their security and safety are being prioritised <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723519881202#_i11">by security and event managers</a> when, or if, trouble arises. </p>
<p>But, it is all about striking a balance: an excessive presence and largely overt security measures may be perceived as both intrusive and contributing to an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723518797028?casa_token=uH30B3JPcwcAAAAA%3AlqfHgguN8NBwljUDYSylZMFDQ24gqkhpCgvJvefsSsVlRFpNqazZTyPi33-RH--tRGgiPcpZdDg">oppressive or sanitised atmosphere</a> in stadiums. For example, when security staff crackdown on innocent fans with <a href="https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/puel-out-protester-who-sign-2440724">banners</a> or fans wearing clothes promoting <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jun/16/fifa-world-cup-ambush-marketing">unlicensed products</a>. </p>
<p>In addition to security and safety, service measures are a key pillar of European approaches to football matches and <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/sport/safety-security-and-service-approach-convention">sport events</a>. In a nutshell, the emphasis on “service” creates a welcoming and enjoyable event for supporters. This can lead to feelings of safety and can be achieved through, for example, information points or designated individuals assisting supporters who often find themselves in a new city. Think of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19201329">volunteer helpers</a>, who helped make the London Olympics in 2012 such a welcoming environment for spectators.</p>
<p>However, in the case of the Champions League final, it appears that the core principles and service standards for ensuring that fans are treated well and feel safe were abandoned or collapsed. In some areas around the stadium where the gates were shut, stewards were reportedly absent and information about the match’s delay was <a href="https://www.liverpool.no/innsikt/2022/5/alle-ville-bare-hjem-bort-fra-stadion-det-var-utrolig-merkelig-stemning/">never provided to supporters</a>.</p>
<p>I witnessed, first hand, that safety was an issue at every step along our journey to the stadium. Even the roads leading there were so jammed with traffic, that people were leaving taxis to jump over reservations in a bid to reach the game. Something as mundane as buying food and a drink in the Liverpool section was so poorly managed that the long queues at half time ultimately led to frustrated supporters arguing among themselves.</p>
<p>And as the game’s kick-off was approaching in Paris, the official UEFA security and the Compagnies républicaines de sécurité kept fans in long queues without instruction and closed entrance gates without warning. They refused to respond to basic and polite fan questioning in regards to essential matters, such as how to exit the stadium or to cross the main road which runs next to the station and needed to be crossed for fans to seek transport home. </p>
<p>But far worse than that, the police began resorting to violent tactics such as deploying pepper spray, teargas and their truncheons without clear warning. </p>
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<p>While policing in the UK has rightly been subject to intense scrutiny, the service retains the ethos of community policing based on dialogue and mutual respect. It can be argued that the French police do not share this ethos and this has resulted in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55100247">other brutal actions</a>, such as the prolonged beating of black music presenter in Paris and widespread allegations of heavy handed policing of <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/06/18/they-talk-us-were-dogs/abusive-police-stops-france">demonstrators and minorities</a>. </p>
<p>There is also another broader structural issue for French society – the failure to integrate and empower the next generation of migrants and their children living in the types of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/apr/04/photographer-banlieue-monsieur-bonheur-department-93-paris-france-fox-news-no-go-zone">decaying banlieues</a> close to the stadium.</p>
<p>It was obvious to everyone there on the day that a key security issue was the presence of a sizeable group of <a href="https://www.thisisanfield.com/2022/05/videos-show-how-french-gangs-forced-entry-at-stade-de-france/">young local men</a> intent on entering the ground. There have also been numerous reports of <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/liverpool-fans-paris-champions-league-final-b2089863.html">visiting fans being mugged</a>. </p>
<p>The extent of this disillusion within French society was evident in 2015 when suicide bombers <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-34839080">attacked the Stade de France</a>. Following that attack, one study explored survey responses from 1,500 football fans, some of whom believed that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723518797028?casa_token=6bjjPDdUvOsAAAAA%3A0AxeFY1Crc4xaZp5QSy2OaxD1FbYva1UxMLBOE02Jma7-Rj3S6d2_120diaCB8Q0MLaTd-UmreI">“nothing would be the same again”</a> in terms of football security and safety. Sadly, the Champions League final shows that nothing has in fact changed, structurally, within the areas of Stade de France. </p>
<p>Studies have <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/now/2019/april/gangs-jihadism-klausen.html">clearly established</a> the link between some criminal and terrorist groups with football’s international audience and its plethora of high profile attendees. So Saturday’s final was a high-value target.</p>
<p>To make all football fans safer, the French authorities need to heed the lessons of the inclusion work which has had some success in <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/networks/radicalisation-awareness-network-ran/publications_en">other European countries</a> and the UK. For example, in challenging terrorist narratives and proposing alternative narratives which focus on what society is <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/whats-new/publications/lessons-learned-alternative-narrative-campaigns-march-2022_en">“for” rather than “against”</a>.</p>
<h2>Blaming fans … again</h2>
<p>Overall, both history and research shows that when disorder spreads at a football match or sporting event <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1012690209344658?casa_token=rgMdVCJmPloAAAAA:NlWnEkdrUByfrOB1RcwOmqcU4H7YNsEth0wGSZ8VaxL_bcNQu-7u7BA4X32cUU0kKOKc8erOAkE">multiple factors play a role</a>.</p>
<p>Rarely are fans solely to blame when things go wrong – yet that has been the dominant discourse in this case: first blaming fans’ “late arrival”, then “ticketless” fans and then <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/may/30/liverpool-fans-caused-initial-problems-in-paris-says-french-sports-minister">“fake tickets on an industrial scale”</a>.</p>
<p>This is pure rhetoric and reinforces the criminalising discourses that present a view of fans as “threats” and “potential troublemakers”. Sadly, and tragically, Liverpool fans have seen this played out before and had to fight over two decades for justice following the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/hillsborough-disaster-24204">Hillsborough Disaster</a> – another event that was appallingly managed by the police and where blame was shifted to the fans. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-hillsborough-law-needed-to-tackle-burning-injustice-and-empower-victims-and-family-86664">New 'Hillsborough Law' needed to tackle 'burning injustice' and empower victims and family</a>
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<p>Indeed, one of the key lessons from the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-report-of-the-hillsborough-independent-panel">Hillsborough Panel</a> and subsequent inquests are the dangers involved when the first narratives that emerge from the perspectives of the authorities, sport’s governing bodies or the police, are blindly and uncritically accepted. Then, the disaster’s aftermath also led to a greater emphasis being placed on health and safety in English football and beyond, including the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00113921211017624?casa_token=X_py4MCZLfEAAAAA%3A2Iki_wz6EY_Z6aiw56U_C1Yr37iN-fN63oK5Nc39Bbae4kzbzrZEn9XtpTmkW1mdn8JdBIwJRto">all-seated stadia</a>. Indeed, the recent events demonstrate how these lessons are as relevant as ever. </p>
<p>International fan networks have been quick to react, and voice their support for Liverpool supporters on Saturday. For example, the pan-European supporter network of Football Supporters Europe (<a href="http://www.fanseurope.org/">FSE</a>) – which is recognised by UEFA as a legitimate partner on matters of security and safety in football – tweeted as the events unfolded: “Fans at the Champions League final bear no responsibility for tonight’s fiasco.”</p>
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<p>Merseyside Police also stated that the Liverpool fans’ behaviour was <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/merseyside-police-say-liverpool-fans-24090792">“exemplary in shocking circumstances”,</a> while troubles were also experienced by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/03/real-madrid-demand-answers-over-treatment-of-fans-at-champions-league-final">Spanish fans</a> visiting Paris.</p>
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<p>Hillsborough is a powerful example of exactly why it is imperative that football fans are not scapegoated – but that their voices and versions are listened to. And that – despite the French and UEFA narratives that followed the match – evaluations and critical reflections into the organisational issues that negatively effected the final provide tangible lessons that inform practice and policy at future events.</p>
<p>In just two years, another sporting mega-event will return to Paris, as the city, including Stade de France, welcomes the world to the 2024 Olympic Games. </p>
<p>But many fans including myself left the Champions League final vowing never to return. And, for now, what should have been a night of celebration appears to be a textbook example of event mismanagement, scapegoating and blame shifting. To prevent the consequences at future events from becoming even more disastrous, things will need to change.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two researchers who specialise in policing and security at sporting events reflect on another bad day for football.Daniel Silverstone, Professor of Criminology, Head of the School of Law and Criminology, University of GreenwichJan Andre Lee Ludvigsen, Senior Lecturer, International Relations and Politics with Sociology, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1832462022-05-26T13:05:42Z2022-05-26T13:05:42ZChampions League final 2022: the economic tactics that drive Liverpool and Real Madrid<p>Liverpool against Real Madrid in the <a href="https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/final/">Champions League final</a> is a fixture for football fans to savour – two giants battling it out for one of the most prized trophies in the game. And regardless of the result, some will also see this match as a win for football over geopolitics and big money. </p>
<p>For these two sides making it to the final means that other powerful teams were knocked out along the way. There is no Manchester City, a club <a href="https://www.marca.com/en/football/premier-league/2021/08/15/6118f43f46163fdb708b4577.html">much criticised</a> for the lavish resources it receives from the Abu Dhabi governnment. There is no Paris St-Germain, which is funded by the vast <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/18/paris-saint-germains-qatari-owners-on-players-and-champions-league.html">wealth of Qatar</a>. </p>
<p>No sign of Chelsea either, the defending European champions, who <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/audio/2022/mar/03/what-will-be-roman-abramovich-chelsea-legacy-football-weekly-extra-podcast">until recently</a> enjoyed the financial backing of a billionaire with strong connections to Russian leaders and Russian gas.</p>
<p>So perhaps this year’s Champions League final is indeed a victory for football purists – a chance to support traditional clubs, untainted by the vast wealth and questionable politics of their rivals.</p>
<p>But before a wave of nostalgia washes over anyone, it is worth remembering that Liverpool versus Real Madrid is not a simple matter of old fashioned sporting values lifting up the beautiful game. </p>
<p>For a start, both clubs have traditionally had strong political associations; the Reds with <a href="https://www.thisisanfield.com/2019/10/is-liverpool-fc-a-socialist-football-club/">the left</a> and Los Blancos with <a href="https://www.nplhmag.com/franco-fascism-football">the right</a>. </p>
<p>And the two sides have openly embraced free market ideology, making them among the wealthiest clubs in the world. In the 2022 ranking of <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/deloitte-football-money-league.html">clubs by revenue</a>, Real Madrid (which has topped the list 12 times in the last 25 years) ranks second, with earnings of €640.1 million (£544.2 million), while Liverpool are seventh with €550.4 million (£467.9 million).</p>
<p>Both teams, then, earn and spend vast amounts of money. For instance, Liverpool has one of football’s most <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-see-rise-217m-revenue-22088144">commercially lucrative</a> kit deals (with Nike), while Real Madrid still has an appetite for spending vast sums on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/may/16/real-madrid-optimistic-signing-kylian-mbappe-psg-forward-says-its-almost-over">top players</a>. </p>
<p>And it would be naive to think that the clubs are uninterested in becoming even wealthier. Indeed, just over a year ago, Liverpool and Real Madrid were among the eight football clubs which <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/football/blog-marcottis-musings/story/4647009/european-super-league-one-year-after-its-collapsewhere-does-everything-stand">announced controversial plans</a> to form a European Super League. </p>
<p>This was <a href="https://theconversation.com/european-super-league-collapse-us-football-owners-badly-misread-supporter-culture-in-england-159476">a scheme</a> clearly designed to accelerate the flow of revenues into already rich clubs, at the expense of other sides across Europe. </p>
<p>Liverpool’s owners eventually stepped back from the proposal, at least for the time being. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez however, <a href="https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/liga/2021-2022/real-madrid-president-florentino-perez-insists-super-league-would-bring-financial-fair-play-to-europ_sto8634011/story.shtml">still seems</a> intent on getting his way and launching a breakaway league. </p>
<p>So while it is true that neither of this year’s Champions League finalists are fuelled by oil and gas revenues, they remain prime examples of free market football, and the cash it brings in. </p>
<h2>Moneyball</h2>
<p>The graphics below allow us to take an overall view of the investments and sponsorship surrounding both clubs, all of which are in the public domain. Each circle represents an economic “actor” (a club, a business or an individual), while each connecting line represents a significant economic transaction. </p>
<p>A closer look at Liverpool’s most lucrative commercial deals reveals that the club’s owner, <a href="https://fenwaysportsgroup.com/">Fenway Sports Group</a>, which also boasts the Boston Red Sox in its portfolio, has assembled a sizeable network of entertainment businesses and properties in the US. </p>
<p>This includes <a href="https://redbirdcap.com/strategy/">RedBird Capital Partners</a>, a “high-profile dealmaker” in the professional sports world, and RedBall Acquisition Corp, spearheaded by Billy Beane (of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210166/">Moneyball</a> fame) and Gerry Cardinale, the co-founder of the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network.</p>
<p>Another business of note is SpringHill Company, an entertainment development and production firm headed by basketball star LeBron James, which has tennis player <a href="https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Serena_Williams/88969/serena-williams-named-to-the-board-of-lebron-james-sprnghill-entertainment/">Serena Williams</a> on the board of directors. James is also a <a href="https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2021/03/20/lebron-james-increases-stake-in-liverpool/#:%7E:text=LEBRON%20James%20has%20upped%20his%20stake%20in%20Liverpool,in%20the%20English%20Premier%20League%20champions%20since%202011.">shareholder</a> of Liverpool FC.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graphic showing business connections of Liverpool FC." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463979/original/file-20220518-23-m6htsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463979/original/file-20220518-23-m6htsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463979/original/file-20220518-23-m6htsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463979/original/file-20220518-23-m6htsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463979/original/file-20220518-23-m6htsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463979/original/file-20220518-23-m6htsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463979/original/file-20220518-23-m6htsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Liverpool FC’s financial links.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Widdop/Simon Chadwick</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Though not overtly political, Liverpool’s private ownership and US focused operations embody a free market ideology that has become increasingly prominent across European football over the last two decades. </p>
<h2>Real fortunes</h2>
<p>At first glance, Real Madrid would appear to be a very different beast. The club is owned by its members – known as “socios” – who get to vote club officials into and out of office.</p>
<p>But the graphic of its commercial deals and relationship shows how closely linked to foreign wealth it has become. There are connections with <a href="https://qiddiya.com/">Qiddiya</a>, an entertainment “mega-project” under construction in Saudi Arabia, and with a Chinese bank which issues a Real Madrid branded credit card. </p>
<p>There are also commercial relationships with Abu Dhabi Bank and Emirates Airline in the UAE, Sela Sports, an event management company based in Saudi Arabia, and technology firms in South Korea and China. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graphic showing business links of Real Madrid." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463980/original/file-20220518-17-uuv6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463980/original/file-20220518-17-uuv6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463980/original/file-20220518-17-uuv6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463980/original/file-20220518-17-uuv6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463980/original/file-20220518-17-uuv6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463980/original/file-20220518-17-uuv6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463980/original/file-20220518-17-uuv6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Real Madrid’s business connections.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Widdop/Simon Chadwick</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Overall, there’s a lot of money invested in the two sides playing for the trophy. And the political side of the game is arguably more obvious than ever. </p>
<p>This year’s Champions League tournament started out with Russian energy giant Gazprom as a principal sponsor, with the final due to be held in Vladimir Putin’s hometown of Saint Petersburg. </p>
<p>After the invasion of Ukraine, the final was <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11945/12551034/champions-league-final-moved-to-paris-from-st-petersburg-after-russian-invasion-of-ukraine">moved to Paris</a>, and the deal with Gazprom terminated. So despite being sanitised of Russia’s influence and of fortunes made through oil and gas, the match still represents two of the key players in the modern game: politics and business.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183246/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Chadwick teaches on UEFA's Certificate in Football Management programme.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Widdop does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>They may not be funded by gas and oil, but these two sides are big money players.Simon Chadwick, Global Professor of Sport | Director of Eurasian Sport, EM Lyon Business SchoolPaul Widdop, Researcher of Sport Business, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1795052022-03-18T10:12:46Z2022-03-18T10:12:46ZLasso-ing Chelsea FC? Why super-rich US sports owners are looking to buy a London soccer team<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452894/original/file-20220317-23-1ulw0kg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C208%2C2102%2C1168&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Putting the Blues in the red, white and blue.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/chelsea-fan-in-a-stars-and-stripes-hat-cheers-on-his-team-news-photo/681569006?adppopup=true">Bradley C Bower/EMPICS via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ted Lasso, the story of an American football coach bringing his unique management skills to a fictional soccer club in West London, has <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10986410/">entertained TV viewers since 2020</a>. It now appears that some investors stateside are looking to experience this close up by buying a real English Premier League club in West London: Chelsea FC.</p>
<p>For the fictional Lasso, swap in the very real Ricketts family. The Chicago Cubs owners have joined up with hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin to bid for the club and have <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11668/12572802/chelsea-sale-ricketts-family-fly-to-london-as-race-to-buy-the-blues-hots-up">flown to London</a> to meet with Chelsea stakeholders.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets and a former Ambassador to the U.K., also <a href="https://www.si.com/soccer/chelsea/news/report-woody-johnson-makes-big-solo-offer-for-chelsea-as-raine-review-takeover-offers">reportedly threw his hat into the ring</a>.</p>
<p>The fire sale of the club is part of the fallout from the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine. The current owner is the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/world/europe/roman-abramovich-russian-oligarch-sanctions.html">Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich</a>. Facing pressure over his links to Vladimir Putin, he promised <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/annakaplan/2022/03/02/russian-billionaire-roman-abramovich-to-sell-chelsea-fcdonate-proceeds-to-help-victims-in-ukraine/?sh=7a7129ca44a0">to sell the club and donate the proceeds for Ukraine relief</a>. Then the U.K. government froze his assets and imposed conditions on the sale process to <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10029291-roman-abramovichs-assets-frozen-needs-uk-governments-permission-to-sell-chelsea">make sure there was no impropriety</a>. The expected price tag for the club is <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-ricketts-family-ken-griffin-make-joint-bid-chelsea-fc">in excess of US$3 billion</a>.</p>
<p>But why are Americans so interested in the fire sale of this club? </p>
<p>Chelsea is one of the best known soccer clubs in the world and current holder of Europe’s prestigious <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/may/29/manchester-city-chelsea-champions-league-final-match-report-kai-havertz">Champions League trophy</a>, which the team also won in 2012. Chelsea is a five-time champion of the English Premier League (EPL). </p>
<p>But the interest is driven not so much by what Chelsea has been, as what it might become. The EPL is already the <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1948434-why-the-premier-league-is-the-most-powerful-league-in-the-world">dominant soccer league on the planet</a>, and it might plausibly go on to become the dominant league across all sports – a kind of NFL Global if you will. And that makes Chelsea, one of the league’s biggest clubs, a very attractive prospect. Its location in one of London’s most fashionable districts also helps, even if the <a href="https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/news/chelsea-new-stadium-stamford-bridge-19601375">stadium itself could do with an upgrade</a>.</p>
<h2>An open goal …</h2>
<p>This interest of American investors in English professional soccer is not new. In fact, it can be dated to 1998 when, temporarily, Manchester United became <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/football/543805.stm#:%7E:text=Nine%20British%20clubs%20in%20total,did%20not%20win%20any%20trophies.">the world’s most valuable sports team</a>.</p>
<p>The flood of TV money that started to <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/385002/premier-league-tv-rights-revenue/">swell the coffers of England’s top teams from the early 1990s</a> piqued interest in the U.S. and led to a series of acquisitions.</p>
<p>By 2005, the Glazer family, owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/who-owns-manchester-united-who-are-the-glazer-family/18j8f1yu1tliv1hrp93zeffh7n">acquired Manchester United</a>. A couple of years later, St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke <a href="https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/how-much-money-stan-kroenke-17273593">started buying shares in</a> London club Arsenal, eventually taking overall control. In 2010, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/483802-liverpool-sold-after-years-of-uncertainty-to-boston-red-sox-owner-john-henry">purchased Liverpool</a>. </p>
<p>For those already super-rich individuals, the move into soccer has paid off. Between 2004 and 2021, the value of these three clubs plus Chelsea increased from <a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2004/0412/126tab.html?sh=761f8fa23425">$2.5 billion</a> to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2021/04/12/the-worlds-most-valuable-soccer-teams-barcelona-on-top-at-48-billion/?sh=7618731916ac">$14.3 billion</a>, a healthy 11% compound average growth rate.</p>
<p>While Europe’s Champions League gives these clubs international exposure – the final of that competition in 2020 <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/super-bowl-vs-world-cup-champions-league-viewing-figures/blte47db8809dbd0a6d">pulled in 328 million viewers worldwide</a> – it’s the global reach of the English Premier League that makes its clubs attractive in the long term. The EPL now generates over 50% of its broadcast revenues from <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/news/970151">overseas contracts</a>. It recently signed a <a href="https://theathletic.com/news/premier-league-agrees-new-six-year-us-tv-deal-worth-more-than-two-billion/GJhr8eHhi3ke/">$2.7 billion contract</a> for the U.S., even though most games air on weekend mornings, meaning people living on the West Coast having to wake up at 4 a.m. to catch some games.</p>
<p>There is almost no country in the world where you cannot get access to EPL games. While Spain’s La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga are popular, they lag far behind in <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/annual-review-of-football-finance.html">revenues and reach</a>, and no other league generates even half the revenues of the EPL. </p>
<h2>… or an own goal?</h2>
<p>But acquiring an English soccer club is not without risk. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ups-and-downs-of-european-soccer-are-part-of-its-culture-moving-to-a-us-style-closed-super-league-would-destroy-that-159316">promotion and relegation system</a>, in which the bottom three teams in the EPL annually go down a division to the less glamorous second-tier Championship, means that teams that fail to win on the pitch are threatened with commercial as well as sporting failure, as several American owners learned the hard way.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A supporter holds aloft a corner flag while another holds a sign saying 'Glazer out.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452899/original/file-20220317-12943-1bgknar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452899/original/file-20220317-12943-1bgknar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452899/original/file-20220317-12943-1bgknar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452899/original/file-20220317-12943-1bgknar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452899/original/file-20220317-12943-1bgknar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452899/original/file-20220317-12943-1bgknar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452899/original/file-20220317-12943-1bgknar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supporters protest against Manchester United’s owners, the Glazer family.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/supporters-protest-against-manchester-uniteds-owners-inside-news-photo/1232648557?adppopup=true">Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Before John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group bought Liverpool, the club was <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-george-gillett-tom-hicks-19947788">briefly owned by two other Americans</a>, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who nearly drove the club into ruin before selling it.</p>
<p>Randy Lerner, the billionaire who once owned the Cleveland Browns, bought Aston Villa FC in 2006 with hopes of bringing success back to a storied team situated in the U.K’s second-largest city, Birmingham. But he decided to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2016/05/18/randy-lerner-suffers-400-million-loss-with-sale-of-aston-villa/">sell a decade later</a> after the club was relegated from the EPL, losing a large chunk of TV revenue in the process.</p>
<p>Similarly, American businessman Ellis Short bought Sunderland AFC in 2008 and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/29/chris-coleman-sackedd-manager-sunderland">sold it in 2018</a> following relegation in that year.</p>
<p>Chelsea’s neighbor Fulham FC – the two teams’ stadiums are only a mile apart – was purchased by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan in 2013, but the club <a href="https://apnews.com/article/jacksonville-jaguars-premier-league-europe-soccer-nfl-a00ffa7a55925ff226842a9dfb75f222">was immediately relegated</a>. And in 2017, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40789323">bought Portsmouth FC</a> – a famous team languishing in the third tier of English football, where it remains today.</p>
<h2>Moving the goal posts?</h2>
<p>Because of the financial and sporting risks of relegation from the English Premier League, successful clubs must continually invest in talent, making it hard to generate profit.</p>
<p>In the past five years, based on the club’s <a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04784127/filing-history">audited financial statements</a>, Chelsea has reported a cumulative net loss of £227 million ($299 million) on revenues of £2.166 billion ($2.85 billion). The accounts also show that this can be attributed to player wage costs, which have averaged 65% of revenues over the past five seasons, and reached 77% of revenues in the 2020/21 season, when COVID-19 kept fans out of the stadium.</p>
<p>The obvious solution for big clubs like Chelsea is to limit risk by abolishing the promotion and relegation system and then instituting salary caps and other restrictive measures employed in U.S. leagues. </p>
<p>However, when the big clubs proposed something along these lines in 2021 – the ill-fated European Super League – the <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog-espn-fc-united/story/4366927/super-league-collapses-how-fan-reactionrevolt-helped-end-english-clubs-breakaway">opposition from fans was so intense</a> that the clubs were forced to back down.</p>
<p>American owners frequently mention a steep learning curve when describing the acquisition of an English soccer club. The attractions are easy to see, the pitfalls are perhaps a little less obvious to the untrained eye.</p>
<p>[<em>More than 150,000 readers get one of The Conversation’s informative newsletters.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140K">Join the list today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179505/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stefan Szymanski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The deadline for formal bids to buy Chelsea FC is March 18. Expect some very rich US businessmen to be in the running.Stefan Szymanski, Professor of Sport Management, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1657692021-08-09T11:22:38Z2021-08-09T11:22:38ZRecord numbers of UK firms are being swallowed by private equity – should we be worried?<p>Two big takeover battles in the UK are a sign of the times: supermarket chain <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/935745af-d952-45b4-96e2-e193f7d95fdd">Wm Morrisons</a> and respiratory medicines group <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6f566bda-1a7c-402c-b04d-b3e0dcc2148e">Vectura</a> are both the subject of bids in the billions of pounds by private equity firms. In the case of Vectura, Carlyle Group is battling it out with Marlboro cigarettes giant Altria, while different private equity suitors are competing to land Morrisons.</p>
<p>It comes as private-equity buyouts of London-listed companies are their highest in <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6f566bda-1a7c-402c-b04d-b3e0dcc2148e">20 years</a>, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bidding-for-uk-firms-at-14-year-high-x8s82208r">contributing to</a> takeover deals worth £156 billion in 2021 to date. Big deals include aerospace firm <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2021/08/02/american-firm-to-take-over-britains-meggitt-in-88-billion-deal/">Meggitt</a> (bought by Parker-Hannifin for £6.3 billion), <a href="https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-9227379/Spitfire-parts-maker-Signature-Aviation-agrees-3-5bn-takeover-consortium.html">Signature Aviation</a> (bought by a consortium led by Blackstone for £3.5 billion), and another supermarket chain: <a href="https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2021/06/issa-bros-push-ahead-with-asda-takeover-after-cma-accepts-petrol-station-sale/">Asda</a> (TDR Capital and the English billionaire Issa brothers for £7 billion). </p>
<p>Private equity firms have also bought motoring support group <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/25/aa-agrees-takeover-deal-private-equity-investors-motoring-uk">the AA</a> in recent months, marking its second stint in private-equity ownership; and a 10% stake in <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/private-equity-firms-543m-deal-for-stake-in-liverpool-3q3kzjw0r">Liverpool</a> football club (whose majority owner, Fenway Sports Group, is essentially a specialist private equity firm anyway). With the exception of Asda’s private-equity owner, which is based in London, these buyers are all American. </p>
<p>Private equity firms are investment vehicles that are not listed on the stock market. Their objectives are no different to listed investment companies, namely increasing profitability by making businesses more efficient. But private equity has long <a href="https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/do-private-equity-buyouts-get-a-bad-rap">had a reputation</a> for cost-cutting, job losses, hiking product prices and loading acquisitions with heavy debts, so a big influx of takeovers is always going to raise eyebrows. So why the surge, and what are the implications?</p>
<h2>Understanding the model</h2>
<p>Private-equity deals are a bit like a corporate version of buy-to-lets. Where a landlord would buy a property and get the tenants to pay the mortgage in the hope that the property goes up in value and can be sold at a profit, private equity does this with companies. </p>
<p>They take control of an “undervalued” publicly listed firm using their own money and substantial borrowings from financial institutions. The aim is for the acquisition to pay back the takeover price and all the interest payments on the loans. The remaining profits then compensate the private-equity owners for their risk, as well as being reinvested in the business. Most private-equity firms expect to sell acquisitions within three to five years, whether by public listing or a resale.</p>
<p>The current popularity of these buyouts has <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bidding-for-uk-firms-at-14-year-high-x8s82208r">been ascribed</a> to the effects of Brexit fears and COVID-19 on UK share prices (“bargain valuations”, according to The Times). Since the 12-month lows at the end of October 2020, the FTSE 100’s gain of 29% <a href="https://uk.tradingview.com">lags behind</a> that of the Dow Jones (33%) and the DAX (38%). </p>
<p>Yet the appreciation of sterling against the US dollar and euro has negated this difference to some extent, particularly for US-based investors. Rather than UK listed companies being undervalued overall, it is more that some businesses look cheap – particularly given the UK economic recovery, which is expected to be <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britains-economic-bounceback-set-to-outstrip-the-g7-v6g6r75f2#:%7E:text=The%20UK%20had%20been%20expected,%2C%20Germany%2C%20Canada%20and%20Japan.">the fastest</a> of the major economies. </p>
<p>Private-equity firms and institutional investors, which accumulated substantial cash during the worst of the pandemic because they saw deal-making as riskier than usual, aim to seize on these opportunities by taking advantage of historically low borrowing rates. </p>
<p>Most attractive are businesses with relatively stable income streams. Morrisons fits this profile well. Its pre-tax profits <a href="https://www.retail-systems.com/rs/Morrisons_Profits_Down_50pc_After_290m_Covid_Bill.php">fell 50%</a> in 2020, softening the share price. But grocery revenues are resilient and Morrisons has a £6 billion property portfolio, including most of its supermarkets.</p>
<h2>Reasons to be wary</h2>
<p>So how worried should we be about private-equity buyouts? Some might argue their reputation for asset-stripping is worse than is deserved. There have certainly been examples of this behaviour but the need to sell on a valuable asset in the three to five-year time-horizon is a strong incentive not to sweat a business too much. </p>
<p>Advocates of efficient markets would add that undervalued assets should be acquired by whoever values them more highly and can improve their efficiency and profitability. But while this may often be true, there is more inherent value in taking companies private than keeping them listed: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Private-equity buyouts are generally heavily debt-laden. Public companies tend to be more conservative with debt given their duty to stakeholders and their reluctance to disclose commercial information to lenders. Highly indebted firms’ interest repayments are tax deductible as a cost of doing business, which reduces their debt-servicing costs and thus gives them a funding advantage. </p></li>
<li><p>Privately owned firms are not subject to the same financial reporting and accountability checks and balances. They are under no obligation to answer to all their stakeholders or the public. For example, they don’t need to disclose who ultimately owns them, or the remuneration of their directors. </p></li>
<li><p>Because private-equity ventures don’t have to reveal ultimate ownership, potential conflicts of interest can be obscured. For example, two companies in the same sector both owned by private equity could have the same ultimate owner and be quietly colluding without the competition authorities realising.</p></li>
<li><p>The <a href="https://www.frc.org.uk/getattachment/31dfb844-6d4b-4093-9bfe-19cee2c29cda/Wates-Corporate-Governance-Principles-for-LPC-Dec-2018.pdf">Wates Corporate Governance Principles</a>, introduced in 2018, are a voluntary code of governance for both public and private firms above a certain size. Principles include mitigating business risks and fostering good relationships with stakeholders. But there has been limited uptake to date, and since public listed companies are arguably expected to follow such principles regardless of Wates, private companies again benefit.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>With private-equity takeovers so popular, these advantages threaten the idea of <a href="https://thebusinessprofessor.com/en_US/business-governance/shareholder-democracy-definition">shareholder democracy</a> – namely that listed companies are more likely to do the right thing because shareholders can walk away at any time. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415230/original/file-20210809-27-1lfjpms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An aerial shot of a shareholder AGM." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415230/original/file-20210809-27-1lfjpms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415230/original/file-20210809-27-1lfjpms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415230/original/file-20210809-27-1lfjpms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415230/original/file-20210809-27-1lfjpms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415230/original/file-20210809-27-1lfjpms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415230/original/file-20210809-27-1lfjpms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415230/original/file-20210809-27-1lfjpms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shareholder democracy is arguably worth protecting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/3aVlWP-7bg8">Mikael Kristenson/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Private-equity buyouts may improve the efficiency and profitability of UK companies. But if firm does this by, for example, taking advantage of the reduced scrutiny to flout workers’ conditions or raise product prices, there will be adverse implications for society as a whole. And if, as many are predicting, interest rates soon have to rise to ward off inflation, more heavily indebted companies could mean more corporate collapses. </p>
<p>If adherence to the Wates’ principles is anything to go by, it will take more than voluntary codes of conduct to protect against these dangers. If we need new legislation to ensure private-equity owned firms are transparent about their ultimate ownership, avoid behaving anti-competitively and act in the interests of stakeholders, then so be it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165769/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Read does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>After sitting on the sidelines in 2020, US private equity is moving in for the kill.Robert Read, Senior Lecturer in International Economics, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1617152021-06-02T12:37:49Z2021-06-02T12:37:49ZHillsborough disaster: a revealing analysis of the language in witness statements<p>The Hillsborough disaster of April 15 1989 led to the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans. They were crushed on the terraces at the FA Cup semi-final as their team started play on the pitch. That afternoon the match commander, David Duckenfield, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/mar/11/hillsborough-top-police-officer-says-he-is-blank-about-two-hours">falsely reported</a> to the FA that fans forced an egress gate – Gate C – and pushed through into the ground without tickets. This lie set the narrative that was later perpetuated in and by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster#/media/File:Hillsborough_disaster_Sun.jpg">tabloid press</a>, which was that the fans arrived drunk, ticketless and too late to get into the ground. In short, they were to blame for the tragedy. This false narrative has apparent resonances in many police officers’ witness statements.</p>
<p>In 2012, following decades of academic research by criminologist <a href="https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofLaw/pre-law-reading/phil-scraton/">Phil Scraton</a> and an impassioned <a href="https://www.theanfieldwrap.com/tag/hillsborough-justice-campaign/">justice campaign</a>, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229038/0581.pdf">Hillsborough Independent Panel</a> found that police had <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229038/0581.pdf">changed statements</a> and that it had been the police case that the blame for the disaster should be placed on to Liverpool fans. An <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-disaster-inquests-verdicts-delivered-11240268">inquest</a> found the same in 2016.</p>
<p>My new research has delved even further into those statements and revealed how the language used in police statements helped fuel the false narrative about what happened that day. I have shown, for example, that more subtle aspects which had the effect of blame-shifting characterised the process of taking statements from football fans and Hillsborough residents.</p>
<h2>My work</h2>
<p>I <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338701468_'Retelling_Hillsborough'_in_Narrative_Retellings_Stylistic_Approaches_ed_Marina_Lambrou_Bloomsbury_Press">analysed</a> 17 residents’ statements contained in a West Midlands Police (WMP) report that was compiled for the director of public prosecutions (DPP) in 1990. Police took hundreds of residents’ statements, but the WMP report offers no indication as to why these 17 were selected for inclusion in this report.</p>
<p>In the statements, a voice other than the witnesses is also present – the institutional voice of the police. One linguistic cue that signals this voice in a witness statement is negation – which is saying what did not happen. If I report something that did not happen then I am conveying that the non-event is newsworthy. This is because there are an infinite number of things that do not happen in the world and so my reporting of the non-event must have some level of narrative significance.</p>
<p>There are many instances of negation in the WMP report statements in which the negated element can be considered reasonably relevant or, to use the linguistic term, “felicitous”. An example of a felicitous negation in a statement is “I do not know what time this was”. Police are <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203168097-15/comparison-policespeak-normalspeak-preliminary-study-gwyneth-fox">fixated by time</a>, and it is not unusual to find many references to time in witness statements. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if I report something that is unexpected or for which there is little or no expectation of relevance, the negation seems odd or “infelicitous”. The following examples are infelicitous negations from four of the 17 residents’ statements, but there are many more:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I did not see any loitering with the exception of several fans who were openly urinating in the road.</p>
<p>They were still just talking to each other and not misbehaving.</p>
<p>I saw groups of supporters standing around on pavements talking. They were not misbehaving at all.</p>
<p>On Saturday (15/04/89) most of the supporters I spoke to left and didn’t cause any trouble.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These examples are “infelicitous” because there were no mentions of “loitering”, “misbehaving” or “causing trouble” up until these points in the witness statements. There is no antecedent to link to these odd occurrences of statements about what did not happen.</p>
<p>Such constructions suggest that at these points, police officers asked questions (such as “did you see any loitering?”) and the witnesses responded “no”. As witness statements do not incorporate question-and-answer sequences, the witness’s negated response to an undocumented question is reformulated here which reads as if the witness volunteered this information.</p>
<p>As these activities did not happen, it is very odd that a witness would offer this information. To give a flavour of how pervasive this is, in these 17 statements there were a total of 143 negations but only 44 were felicitous. That means 99 instances were infelicitous. </p>
<p>Looking closer at the events that are negated, 93 of them relate to the same key themes of alcohol, causing trouble or buying and selling tickets. This means that what fans did not do features just as prominently, if not more prominently, in these residents’ statements than what fans did do. These negations indicate that police officers introduced and controlled these topics, and their pervasiveness suggests that they fixated on the key themes they themselves introduced.</p>
<p>Negation is not the only linguistic cue that builds a dominant narrative that reflects badly on Liverpool fans. For example, police used leading questions in questionnaires circulated around the local neighbourhood. The same key themes emerge again:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(i) DID YOU WITNESS ANY INCIDENTS OF DRUNKENNESS OR DISORDERLY BEHAVIOUR OF ANY OF THE FANS? (BRIEF DESCRIPTION) INCLUDE TIME OF INCIDENT.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The same kinds of questions featured in questionnaires given out in pubs and licensed premises:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(ii) WAS ANY DAMAGE CAUSED TO YOUR PREMISES?</p>
<p>(iii) WERE YOU SUBJECTED TO ANY THREATS OR VIOLENCE BY FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS?</p>
<p>(iv) DID FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS STEAL ALCOHOL TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE? EXPLAIN BRIEFLY AND ESTIMATE QUANTITY.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Latest findings</h2>
<p>On May 26, the case against two senior South Yorkshire police personnel, Donald Denton and Alan Foster, and the force solicitor, Peter Metcalf, for perverting the course of justice (by amending statements), was discharged.</p>
<p>But it’s vital to note that the charges were dropped on the grounds that the prosecution had <a href="https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Hillsborough-Ruling.pdf">“no case to answer”</a>. Because the statements in question had been prepared for the public inquiry into the disaster rather than for a case in a court of law, it could not be said that the men perverted justice. </p>
<p>Additionally, the judge did not find that anything done by any of the defendants had a tendency to pervert the course of public justice in relation to other proceedings. The decision did not rely on an assessment of whether statements had been altered – a fact that is not in dispute.</p>
<p>And as linguistic assessment of witness statements shows, a statement doesn’t need to be literally altered to give a misleading picture of events.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161715/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patricia Canning does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Witnesses spent a surprising amount of time talking about what didn’t happen that day – which is very significant.Patricia Canning, Lecturer/Researcher, Forensic Stylistics, Linguistics, and Rhetoric, Utrecht UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1594692021-04-23T14:23:31Z2021-04-23T14:23:31ZEuropean Super League: owners have witnessed the power of fans and should listen to them to avoid future failure<p>In the past year, football has gone ahead in silent, soulless stadia. It has been a testament to how important fans are and there was hope that when COVID restrictions lifted and clubs could welcome them back, they would do so with open arms. It would be a new era where they would appreciate and value their fandom more.</p>
<p>Then the breakaway European Super League (ESL) was announced with six Premier League clubs among its 12 founding members. It caused widespread outrage and was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56800351">described by Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin</a> as a “disgraceful, self-serving plan” and “a spit in the face of football lovers”. </p>
<p>One of multiple leaks from what ultimately became a sinking ship described domestic football supporters as “legacy fans”. The suggestion was that traditional home-based support is perceived by some club owners as a poor relation to an overseas armchair fanbase or “fans of the future”, <a href="https://twitter.com/danroan/status/1384062591450771465">as BBC Sport reported</a>. </p>
<p>It is no secret that those clubs agitating to form a football cartel have become increasingly concerned at getting larger shares of broadcast rights and recognise the untapped potential of global markets. </p>
<p>That is essentially what the ESL was about – maximising profits through global expansion with like-minded invitation-only clubs. But at what cost? There was a gross underestimation of how big the backlash from politicians, governing bodies, sidelined clubs, and of course, fans would be.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Liverpool football fans hold up their scarves." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396534/original/file-20210422-20-4feqid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5332%2C3711&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396534/original/file-20210422-20-4feqid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396534/original/file-20210422-20-4feqid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396534/original/file-20210422-20-4feqid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396534/original/file-20210422-20-4feqid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396534/original/file-20210422-20-4feqid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396534/original/file-20210422-20-4feqid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Liverpool was one of the teams who joined then backed out of the European Superleague.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/madrid-spain-june-1-2019-liverpool-1422698105">Cosmin Iftode/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Political football</h2>
<p>English football’s disregard for fans is not new. In the past, the recommendations that clubs curb ticket prices, made in the post-Hillsborough-tragedy <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-long-haul-implement-taylor-report-1087369.html">Taylor report</a>, were ignored. Then there was the implementation of the dubious “fit and proper” person test, which ascertains the suitability of a person to take over a club. The test has only led to a multitude of takeovers from investors with suspect motives, further pushing fans to the sidelines. </p>
<p>A Football Task Force was introduced in 1997, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-task-force-will-deliver-fair-deal-for-fans-1119278.html">to reportedly</a> “give fans a fair deal” at a time when ticket prices were rising exponentially above the rate of inflation. An enduring outcome of the task force has been Supporters Direct – amalgamated into the <a href="https://thefsa.org.uk/">Football Supporter’s Association</a> (FSA) – a group with cross-party support that has helped establish more than 140 supporter trusts to provide greater accountability and strengthen fan influence in the running of clubs. And yet, the ESL reached an advanced stage without any supporter consultation.</p>
<p>Increased fan input to club administration, perhaps even involving a presence in the boardroom, has been suggested in the wake of the ESL debacle. The reality of wholesale takeovers is unlikely though, with the sums now required to own a so-called “big six” club far beyond the reach of supporters’ groups. </p>
<p>Boris Johnson promised to “drop a legislative bomb” to thwart the ESL. Whatever that would have entailed is unlikely to be required now all six English clubs have withdrawn. Nonetheless, the UK prime minister is said to be keen to continue working with supporters groups to help reform the governance of football and prevent similar moves in the future. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Empty stands at a football stadium." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396552/original/file-20210422-21-55qwsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396552/original/file-20210422-21-55qwsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396552/original/file-20210422-21-55qwsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396552/original/file-20210422-21-55qwsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396552/original/file-20210422-21-55qwsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396552/original/file-20210422-21-55qwsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396552/original/file-20210422-21-55qwsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">On the Premier League’s 20th anniversary in 2012, the cost of the cheapest ticket at Manchester United’s Old Trafford had risen by 700%.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manchester-england-april-13-old-trafford-436726813">Nook Thitipat/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One idea is for an independent regulator to have overarching powers to keep renegade clubs in check. Another potential option could be the introduction of “golden shares”, providing fans groups with the power of veto over board decisions. </p>
<p>The FSA and others have highlighted <a href="https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/Bundesliga/german-soccer-rules-50-1-fifty-plus-one-explained-466583.jsp">Germany’s 50+1 model</a> that requires fan ownership of a minimum of 51% of shares. This explains why the ESL was a non-starter for the likes of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, whose absence from the “dirty dozen” was applauded. </p>
<p>For some, the German model is the ideal. Again, this could be unrealistic with some of England’s top clubs now valued in the billions. At the very least, there will now be a discussion involving supporters’ groups to test the practicality of these and other ideas for reform amid calls for greater transparency from club owners and better engagement with fans. </p>
<p>Responding to news that his team was pulling out of the ESL, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkWNYFME4Bo&ab_channel=WeShowFootball">commended the fan protests</a>, saying that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[They were] really loud and clear, and they sent probably the strongest message that has ever been sent in [the] football world … we have to listen to them.“</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As the ESL crumbled, owners witnessed the power their "legacy” fans wield and they should realise that if they are to avoid such failures in the future, having their interests in mind and listening to what they have to say is worthwhile.</p>
<p>Whatever measures are put in place, if steps are taken to give supporters more control over how clubs are run, then perhaps Real Madrid president Florentino Perez had a point when he claimed the ESL was being created to “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56812151">save football</a>”. </p>
<p>Paradoxically, the league that was killed within 72 hours of its unveiling could have a lasting impact.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159469/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Randles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What at first appeared as a horror story for supporters could turn out to have a happy ending.David Randles, Senior Lecturer in Sports Journalism, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1414902020-06-25T22:38:45Z2020-06-25T22:38:45ZLiverpool, Premier League champions: ‘A proud supporter of the Reds, I felt blue for 30 years. No longer’<p>What were you doing 30 years ago? Were you even born? Let me mark your card here. Research at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CERN">CERN</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland">Switzerland</a> by British computer scientist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee">Tim Berners-Lee</a> in 1989-90 would eventually result in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web">World Wide Web</a>, linking <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext">hypertext</a> documents into an information system accessible from any node on the network (thanks for that, Wikipedia). In other words, the internet was just being conceived.</p>
<p>There was no social media back then, little reality TV. Mobile phones – when you knew someone who had one – were like bricks. Elton John was top of the charts – can’t remember what with, but it was probably on a compact disc. </p>
<p>Try describing this cultural and information wasteland to anyone under 30 today. It sounds like an era of steam engines, sticky-backed plastic, string and cardboard. And it was the last time my team, Liverpool FC, were league champions in England. When you grow up with your football team winning, 30 years is a lifetime. </p>
<p>So it was a bit bizarre, watching two clubs, Manchester City and Chelsea, neither of which I’d ever want to win anything, knowing that if Chelsea could stop City winning, Liverpool would secure the greatest prize in English football, for the first time in 30 years.</p>
<p>And when, 13 minutes from the end, with the scores level – still enough for Liverpool to take the title – Chelsea scored a penalty to go 2-1 up against ten men, I knew it was finally heading to Anfield. There was nobody in the stadium to burst into rapturous applause, but hearts were racing across Merseyside, and around the world among followers of Liverpool FC.</p>
<h2>It’s been a long wait</h2>
<p>Back in the summer of 1990, I had just blagged a gig for The Times to write a piece about fans at the European Cup final in Vienna: <a href="https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/video/classics/0233-0e67b2243d91-76c9a44d62a5-1000--1990-final-highlights-milan-1-0-benfica/">AC Milan 1, Benfica 0</a>. Everyone was perfectly behaved and I remember composing some stupid remark home about these wonderful people and how little street theft and disorder there was in places abroad such as Milan. Until, of course, I actually visited Milan.</p>
<p>Back then, this was about the only way that English fans could connect to elite continental football. We were still banned as a country from European club football because of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-32898612">Heysel Stadium disaster</a> in 1985 where 39 people died and 600 were injured as some of my club’s fans disgraced themselves and the nation in Brussels – and plenty of people back home had had about enough of dismal stadia and the brutality of English fan culture. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Liverpool till I die: the author in 1968 as a young footballer with Bootle Grammar under-15 side, Merseyside Schools.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The shame of Heysel, weirdly, seemed only to spur Liverpool FC to new heights on the pitch, confirm the club’s domestic power and its importance for local people. We even won the domestic double in 1986, almost did it again in 1988, and almost did it again in 1989. Famously, losing the title to Arsenal in 1989 in dramatic, last gasp, fashion came only weeks after the shock of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19545126">Hillsborough disaster</a>. We were still in turmoil. I sat on the steps of the Kop that night as Arsenal celebrated, thinking that Liverpool winning the league title again wouldn’t have felt right with so many dead fans to grieve for. I wasn’t heartbroken at defeat.</p>
<p>One more league title did come, in 1990, but by then our charismatic managers and the great Liverpool players of this era – Kenny Dalglish was still manager, but his glory days were behind him. And so many others – a stellar roll call – Souness, Hansen, Rush, even John Barnes, were gone, past their best or retired. Their replacements were often sub-standard. It was the end of a glorious road, 25 years of fantastic success.</p>
<h2>Wilderness years</h2>
<p>Liverpool FC would now lose traction, fall behind their key rivals. This was mainly because the club was still run as a superior corner shop, reluctant to embrace change – club secretary Peter Robinson even opposed new computer software for the finance staff. </p>
<p>But it was also because the longer-term baggage of these awful disasters of the 1980s engulfed the club, its staff and its supporters. The old Anfield boot room aura of competitive coaching advantage would now no longer work in this new, more global, age of sports science, international player recruitment, and billionaire foreign owners. Buying the best of British was no guarantee of success, as it once had been for Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s.</p>
<p>The aftermath of Hillsborough also produced an agenda for nationwide stadium modernisation, a moment when the game itself in England was completely reconstructed and repackaged. This came with the birth of the brassy new, commodified FA Premier League in 1992, the rise of satellite TV as a major new funder for English football, and the globalisation of the elite levels of the English game, made possible by new technology and new marketing and communication techniques. Liverpool FC took time to reconnect, still stuck in their old ways.</p>
<h2>Klopp rules the Kop</h2>
<p>It has taken 30 years for us to get back to the very top – the occasional wonderful European triumph and other domestic trophies notwithstanding (I have seen them all). We almost went under completely in 2010, rescued by our current owners, the Americans at FSG, only at the 11th hour in the High Court. In 2014, a cruel Steven Gerrard slip robbed us, at the last, of a certain title. There were tears on the Kop.</p>
<p>A year later, and a hippy-looking, bearded smoker breezed in from Germany, apparently drunk on Kool-Aid, to tell us that Bill Shankly himself had been resurrected with a dentist’s smile, and that he was going to build a new fortress at Anfield. This new coach was soon even scolding his own supporters in the Liverpool Main Stand for leaving matches too early. Who was this guy?</p>
<p>Jurgen Klopp has somehow whizzed Liverpool football club back to the 1960s, when the city was iridescent and its ambitious young Scottish manager and his players believed anything was achievable – and then went on to show how. The “<a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/what-is-heavy-metal-football-how-has-jurgen-klopp-used-it-at/gvxzni0i7rne1enr3bayptwcr">heavy metal</a>” global team Klopp has built in five years, with its Dutchmen, Brazilians, Africans and Brits, is the best I have seen at Anfield – and I have pretty much seen them all. It may even be the best ever to play at the highest level in the English game. It is close to perfect.</p>
<p>Which is why it is both agony and ecstasy now, watching Liverpool, my club, claim this first title for 30 long years, not from my Block 207, Row 15, Seat 60 place on the Kop, but from the unwelcome comfort of my living room. Nobody is even sitting in the stadium where I should be. At least the season has not been voided as some scared accountants and club chief executives initially wanted. And not even Pep Guardiola’s brilliant Manchester City could stop us. </p>
<p>But COVID-19 has meant our own, long-awaited, 19th league title will have to be consumed and celebrated home and alone. It is hard to take – I do want to get out and scream – but after 30 years, and in the current circumstances, I can live with that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141490/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Liverpool fan John Williams has banished the ghosts of 30 years. Liverpool are champions of the English Premier League and, as far as he is concerned, things are as they should be.John Williams, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1180872019-05-31T11:25:31Z2019-05-31T11:25:31ZChampions League final: how money buys success on the pitch<p>Following Chelsea’s victory over London rivals Arsenal in the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48451536">UEFA Europa League final</a> in Azerbaijan, attention has now turned to the upcoming UEFA Champions League final, which is taking place on June 1 in Madrid. This final will see yet another two English teams battling for the trophy, in a country where European competition trophies tend to stay.</p>
<p>It’s the first time that all four teams in the European finals <a href="http://theconversation.com/premier-league-how-englands-clubs-swept-to-european-football-dominance-117030">have been English</a>. And the English Premier League’s commercial success begs the question of whether money has been the driving force for the success of these teams on the pitch.</p>
<p>In terms of overall league success, the English Premier League dominates European football when it comes to income, leaving the rest of the leagues far behind. According to the latest <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/annual-review-of-football-finance.html#">Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance</a>, the English top league had a total revenue of €5.44 billion in the 2017-18 season. This is almost the same as the next two leagues in the rankings put together, Germany’s Bundesliga (€3.17 billion) and Spain’s La Liga (€3.1 billion). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
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<span class="caption">The English league’s revenues are far greater than their European rivals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/annual-review-of-football-finance.html#">Deloitte</a></span>
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<p>But the EPL’s astonishing commercial success is an older phenomenon. It has topped football finance rankings for the last decade. Seeing this translate to success on the pitch in European competitions is relatively new. After all, historically, it has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/may/22/has-one-league-ever-dominated-european-football-like-la-liga">Spanish clubs</a> that have dominated the European competitions, winning trophy after trophy since the early 2000s. </p>
<p>When we look at the revenue of specific clubs, the picture becomes a bit more complex. The most financially successful English club has always been Manchester United, which also historically topped Europe’s money rankings and only made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season, while failing to qualify for it in 2020. </p>
<p>According to Deloitte’s detailed breakdown of club financial performance, the <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/deloitte-football-money-league.html">Football Money League</a>, the best performing European team was Real Madrid, followed by Barcelona and then Manchester United. The revenue generated by the two Champions League finalists, Liverpool and Tottenham in the 2017-18 season ranks them seventh and tenth respectively. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277357/original/file-20190531-69071-1bnhx9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277357/original/file-20190531-69071-1bnhx9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277357/original/file-20190531-69071-1bnhx9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277357/original/file-20190531-69071-1bnhx9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277357/original/file-20190531-69071-1bnhx9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277357/original/file-20190531-69071-1bnhx9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277357/original/file-20190531-69071-1bnhx9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277357/original/file-20190531-69071-1bnhx9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Liverpool and Tottenham are the seventh and tenth biggest earners in Europe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/deloitte-football-money-league.html">Deloitte</a></span>
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<p>While both clubs increased their income and subsequent ranking from the season before (2016-17), they still rank well behind Spain’s Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, and England’s Manchester United. Tottenahm’s revenue of €428.3m was nearly half that of top ranking Real Madrid’s €750.9m.</p>
<p>In fact, the clubs that appeared in the top six positions in this year’s revenue table did not participate in either UEFA competition final. So it seems that money does not automatically equal success.</p>
<h2>A competitive ecosystem</h2>
<p>Nevertheless, money clearly plays a role in today’s competitive sport ecosystem. While this relationship might not be a direct analogy of “money equals automatic victory”, with a number of the clubs appearing on the Deloitte list having not won a European trophy for years, it does suggest that the two are related. Liverpool and Tottenham may not top the financial league tables, but they still rank fairly high. </p>
<p>It’s also useful to look at how clubs spend their revenues and the extent that they can buy success through buying top players. Tottenham did not spend any money on new players in 2018-19, but <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/tottenham-hotspur/alletransfers/verein/148">did spend €123.4m in 2017-18</a> including €28.9m on player Lucas Moura who was instrumental in getting them to the final.</p>
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<p>Liverpool on the other hand spent €185.7m on new players in the 2018-19 season and €177.2m the year before. This included more than €60m on a much-needed new goalkeeper and more than €40m on star striker Mo Salah. So arguably their success has come at greater cost. In 2018-19, only Chelsea outspent Liverpool in terms of <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/transfers/wettbewerb/GB1">transfer market activity</a>. </p>
<p>Of course, buying top players can only get you so far. They need to play well together and there is also the role of luck when it comes to whether or not players get injured – something Tottenham have struggled with this season, with top striker Harry Kane and others out for much of the season.</p>
<p>Looking at it from a non-football perspective, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19406940.2017.1387587">research</a> I’ve carried out into sport governing bodies underlines the challenges that sports bodies are faced with in terms of securing profitable revenue streams. Colleagues and I found that there is a virtuous (or vicious) circle in sport where money leads to success and then success to more money, and vice versa. We found that a number of sport governing bodies have been hit by the government’s austerity policies. These cuts mean a lack of secure funding which led to an unavoidable and dangerous vicious circle of less success. </p>
<p>So Tottenham – the underdog in terms of historic financial performance and on the pitch – will be hoping to develop a more virtuous cycle in the club’s first ever Champions League final. Meanwhile, Liverpool will hope to build on their experience and past successes in Europe’s top flight. Money may not be the only key to sporting success, but it is certainly an important ingredient to it nonetheless.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118087/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Argyro Elisavet Manoli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The English Premier League has long topped the football finance rankings but seeing this translate on the pitch in Europe is relatively new.Argyro Elisavet Manoli, Lecturer in Sports Marketing and Communications, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1180562019-05-30T18:07:39Z2019-05-30T18:07:39ZCome On You Reds! A Liverpool fan dreams of Champions League glory<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277276/original/file-20190530-69087-1hzcwoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mohamed Salah shows us how it's done.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manchester-england-april-10-mohamed-salah-1067486108?src=YjoZWMNvWqN0B0Db9jePxw-1-7">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I’m a lucky man. A sports sociologist by trade, I’m in Madrid to see my eighth European Cup final involving my club, Liverpool FC – “the Mighty Reds”. For people my age (65) and from my city (Liverpool), this competition will always be known as the European Cup – rather than the Champions League – because of its history and character. And we’ve won it five times, after all.</p>
<p>This time, I have an assured match ticket to Saturday’s game – a cool £154 dropped into UEFA’s coffers – and even somewhere to stay. I booked up in December: you do need outrageous hope in football, even if only to avoid the <a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-league-how-english-footballs-top-flight-favours-fans-of-london-clubs-113066">crippling costs of support</a>.</p>
<p>In 2018, when the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44258022">Reds played Real Madrid</a> in the final in Kiev, Ukraine, I paid £1,000 for flights, slept overnight in Warsaw airport and later on a friend’s apartment floor. Was I mad? All that suffering, just to see our star forward, the Egyptian Mo Salah, being ruinously fouled after only 30 minutes. It looked like game over – and just to confirm it, our young goalkeeper, Loris Karius, decided to throw two Real Madrid attempts into his own net. He (and we) ended up in tears.</p>
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<p>Quite by chance – and considerable good fortune – I managed to miss Liverpool’s terrible 1985 Heysel Stadium final in Brussels, when hooliganism and inept organisation rendered the whole thing catastrophic and meaningless as sport. Tragically, <a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/announcements/350670-lfc-marks-34th-anniversary-of-heysel-stadium-disaster">39 fans were killed</a>. But – and all academic objectivity goes flying away here – I have cried with joy in Rome (1977 and 1984); cavorted at Wembley (1978); jigged in Paris (1981); and gasped in amazement at the miracle of Istanbul (2005) when we came back from
three goals down. I even <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1855670.The_Miracle_of_Istanbul">wrote a book about it</a>. In 2007, in Athens, it was only <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6669039.stm">defeat and chaotic despair</a>. You might say I have some experience of the highs and lows of these events.</p>
<p>And yet the 2019 final is entirely different, even for me. Because this time, Liverpool is <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/05/30/champions-league-final-tottenham-vs-liverpool-kick-off-time-venue-predictions/">facing another English club</a>, Tottenham Hotspur – a talented team, but rookies when it comes to top-flight European football.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-league-how-englands-clubs-swept-to-european-football-dominance-117030">England takeover</a> of the final has happened only once before, in 2008 in Moscow. Then, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/dec/30/manchester-united-chelsea-champions-league-moscow">Manchester United defeated Chelsea</a> on penalties in the Russian rain. That final seemed strangely lacking in the contrasts and exotica which makes the European competition so special because of its usual international flavour. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-league-how-englands-clubs-swept-to-european-football-dominance-117030">Premier League: how England's clubs swept to European football dominance</a>
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<p>Indeed, it feels like we have been cheated of a proper European occasion in 2019, too. Spurs are high-class opposition, for sure, but we can play them any time at home. I’ll bet our north London rivals feel exactly the same.</p>
<h2>What about the Greens?</h2>
<p>Environmentalists might wonder, not unreasonably, at the carbon bootprint left by flying tens of thousands of fans from England across Europe to play a match that could so easily (and much more cheaply) have been decided in the UK. But a global game will always involve international travel.</p>
<p>Smart alecs might also argue that mixing it in Madrid with our London rivals in 2019 is a sort of Champions League final for the Brexit era. Why do we need continental opponents when it is so obvious that we, the English, are the best? </p>
<p>The commercial power and strength of the club game in England is clear. But this is different, of course, from talking about the English game, because our coaches and key players are drawn from distant parts of the globe. Liverpool FC has as many Brazilians and Africans as Englishmen in its first team. Indeed, England manager Gareth Southgate <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/may/18/gareth-southgate-premier-league-english-players-warning">recently predicted</a>, glumly, that soon only 15% of top Premier League players might qualify to play for England.</p>
<p>So why does the current version of European football still matter, even though we are playing all-too-familiar Premier League opposition in its blue-riband event? Perhaps because, against all reason, a club such as Liverpool still overwhelmed mighty Barcelona <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48179167">by four goals</a> in the semi final, in the same raucous working-class location it has played in since 1892, and in only the tenth competitive meeting between these clubs in their entire combined histories (I so wish you could have been there).</p>
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<p>Or, because the commercially modest Dutch masters, Ajax – a truly great name in European football’s past – can, even in the age of billionaire oil and state club ownership and Premier League power, build a thrilling young team and come within seconds of beating Spurs <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2019/may/08/ajax-v-tottenham-hotspur-champions-league-semi-final-second-leg-live">in their semi-final</a>. Now, if Liverpool were playing Ajax in Madrid that would be a proper European Cup final – sorry, Spurs.</p>
<p>It is that precious uncertainty and search for collective glory which is why we still watch. And why misguided, ageing, supporters spend mad money to sleep fitfully overnight in Eastern European airports and Kiev floors. Because, my friends, that is emotionally invested sport, not business.</p>
<p>Come on, you Reds!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118056/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It can be difficult, emotional and expensive following a football team. A sports sociologist explains why it’s worth it.John Williams, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1020802018-09-11T11:15:35Z2018-09-11T11:15:35Z‘Hyperdigitalised’ sports fans are connecting with their heroes like never before<p>Sports clubs and sporting mega stars are big business. They <a href="https://theconversation.com/qatar-psg-and-the-real-reason-neymar-could-sell-for-a-record-198m-81859">collect billions</a> through endorsements and TV deals and it sometimes seems like the fans are being left behind while clubs and players cash in. But the advent of social media means that players and clubs can now reconnect with supporters on a global scale. One great example of this power for good was when <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45185521">Barnsley FC reached out to a fan</a> it thought was suffering from depression. </p>
<p>But it is also fair to say that sport and social media have <a href="https://theconversation.com/sport-and-social-medias-rocky-relationship-is-safe-for-now-89624">a rocky relationship</a> and so this still must be managed well. </p>
<p>The business of sport is huge. To give some idea of the scale of sport, in 2018, Forbes released a table of the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/consent/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr/2018/07/18/forbes-releases-2018-list-of-the-worlds-most-valuable-sports-teams/#79cedbd475ff">top 50 global sports clubs</a> in terms of value. It placed the Dallas Cowboys NFL team top of the pile with a US$4.8 billion valuation. This was closely followed by Manchester United on US$4.1 billion and Real Madrid on just over US$4 billion.</p>
<p>This mega wealth is fuelled by lucrative sponsorship deals and broadcast rights, which are closely linked with digital technologies for fans. Thanks to the <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/networked">triple revolution</a> of fast internet, smartphones and social media, fans globally are always connected and some have argued that they have become “<a href="http://usir.salford.ac.uk/46800/">hyperdigitalised</a>”. The number of smartphone owners in the world is growing swiftly and is <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/">expected to rise to 2.5 billion</a> by 2019.</p>
<p>Social media is now the key connection between clubs and their fans – and the attraction and retention of new fans. It benefits clubs and players by allowing them to amplify their messages, discuss and interact with supporters and listen to what they are saying in an ongoing way. </p>
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<h2>Reaching out</h2>
<p>Each sports club is a little different in terms of their audience and needs. When Barnsley FC wrote a letter to the fan it believed was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45185521">suffering from depression</a>, the club used a traditional format to express sympathy – but social media was used to amplify the message. It was a great bit of PR by the club and garnered 28,000 retweets and 134,000 likes as well as nearly 2,000 comments. It showed how a “small” club can use social media to make a big impression.</p>
<p>Essentially, clubs need to be wherever their fans or potential fans are. Manchester United are an example of a global sports brand and therefore, they need to be mindful of global audiences. United has been quite late to the party with their use of social media. It launched its <a href="https://twitter.com/ManUtd">Twitter feed</a> in 2013 – four years after Chelsea. But this has not stopped the club developing a huge international fan base of 18.3m followers, compared to just over 6m for Manchester City, 13m for Arsenal and 12m for Chelsea.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1037226332357373952"}"></div></p>
<h2>The club brand</h2>
<p><a href="http://usir.salford.ac.uk/44387/">Our research</a> on Manchester United and Liverpool FC’s local and international fans on Instagram demonstrated that both fan comments and club posts form part of the brand of these clubs. Our study showed that Instagram gives fans a more active role in the branding process through comments. So teams should bear this in mind and think carefully about the kinds of images they post, as well as pay close attention to fan comments. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BnTxvWqnNpQ/?hl=en\u0026taken-by=liverpoolfc","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p><a href="http://alexfenton.co.uk/football-and-social-media/">My own research</a> on how clubs use social media to build relationships used Salford FC as a case study. Salford FC are an interesting case because they are much smaller (at the time they were playing in the sixth tier of English football). But because of their connections to <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-united-class-92-david-6270475">United’s Class of 92</a> (the team which included David Beckham, the Neville brothers, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt), they have acquired an international audience of fans through social media and now have over 140,000 followers on their official Twitter channel alone. </p>
<p>This impressive following and their online interactions are not lost on potential sponsors and partners who want their message to spread to a wider audience. Drinks brand Vimto are partners of Salford FC and they interwove this with a social media campaign with <a href="https://salfordcityfc.co.uk/new-sponsorship-vimto-salford-city/">its own hashtag</a>.</p>
<h2>Player power and the backlash</h2>
<p>Players also use social media to raise their profiles and create their own brands. If you look for example at Ronaldo – his 318m <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/11/football/cristiano-ronaldo-juventus-value-spt-intl/index.html">social media followers</a> will have helped his <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/11/football/cristiano-ronaldo-juventus-value-spt-intl/index.html">big money move to Juventus</a>. </p>
<p>After he left Real Madrid, their Twitter followers alone <a href="https://www.rt.com/sport/437526-ronaldo-social-media-juventus-madrid/">dropped by over a million</a>. This demonstrates that fans often follow high profile players wherever they go. My research found the same happens with <a href="http://alexfenton.co.uk/football-and-social-media/">smaller clubs too</a>.</p>
<p>Social media gives players and sporting stars a voice and connects them to the fans like never before. Benjamin Mendy had hardly kicked a ball for Manchester City but still managed to develop a rapport with the fans <a href="https://www.joe.co.uk/sport/benjamin-mendy-explains-why-he-keeps-calling-man-city-the-shark-team-142690">through social media</a> by posting a string of amusing tweets and Instagram posts, poking fun at fellow players and himself in the process.</p>
<p>But it is notable that some sports managers have been critical of social media and its use by their players. City coach Pep Guardiola told Mendy to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45164736">use social media less</a> and to concentrate on improvements on the pitch.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1031585547020656640"}"></div></p>
<p>It is also true to say that players are role models and social media amplifies their voice – so it should be used wisely. There have been numerous examples of players and others in the game using social media badly to voice controversial opinions. Phil Neville fell foul of this just after accepting the head coach job for England’s women team. He was on the end of a social media backlash after alleged sexist comments were found on his social media. He apologised but still felt compelled to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/01/23/phil-neville-deletes-twitter-account-controversial-posts-women/">delete his Twitter account</a>. </p>
<p>So it’s great when everyone is happy, engaged, responding and “liking” your content. But whoever uses social media – whether player or club – needs to be very careful to avoid the pitfalls that come up all too often in this era of hyperdigitilised sports fandom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102080/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Fenton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Social media is key when it comes to connecting clubs with fans and building a brand identity. But with great power, comes great responsibility.Alex Fenton, Lecturer in Digital Business, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1006912018-08-10T09:41:31Z2018-08-10T09:41:31ZEngland invented football – but Scots made it the success it has become<p>In his book, <a href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2002/09/26/great-scots/">How Scots Invented the Modern World</a>, American writer Arthur Herman credited the inventiveness of Sots in numerous fields including science, education, medicine, and philosophy and medicine. In so doing, he argued, the Scots were responsible for modern ideas about democracy, free market capitalism and the importance of developing a literate society. </p>
<p>Another invention he could have added was the <a href="http://www.thefa.com/about-football-association/what-we-do/history">Football League</a> – the First Division of which was the forerunner of the English Premier League (EPL), widely regarded as the most successful domestic football competition <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1306268-10-reasons-the-premier-league-is-the-best-in-the-world">in the world</a> – which was invented by a Scotsman living in England.</p>
<p>Even though the English <a href="https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/the-laws/index.html">first codified</a> the modern game of association football, there is no doubt that – like golf – football gave Scotland what Kevin McCarra, in his 1984 <a href="http://www.scottishsporthistory.com/football-books.html">pictorial history of Scottish football</a>, described as “a place in the world”.</p>
<p>The league process developed rapidly in England itself with Scottish players arriving in large numbers to play for clubs in the north-east and in Lancashire in the 1880s. Professionalism was still officially illegal in both countries but English clubs were more successful than their Scottish counterparts at circumventing this obstacle, not least by paying “expenses” and offering paid employment in firms owned by club directors.</p>
<p>Most noteworthy of all, however, is the role played by <a href="https://www.avfc.co.uk/club/history/mcgregor">William McGregor</a>. Born in Braco in Perthshire in 1846, McGregor moved to Birmingham where he set up in business as a draper and became a committee member of Aston Villa Football Club in 1877. On March 23 1888, he organised a meeting in London with representatives of ten leading English clubs including West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End. A subsequent meeting in Manchester on 17 April resulted in the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/9893201/Time-to-raise-a-glass-to-William-McGregor-the-original-godfather-and-founder-of-league-football.html">formation of the Football League</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230213/original/file-20180801-136646-19y6umh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230213/original/file-20180801-136646-19y6umh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230213/original/file-20180801-136646-19y6umh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230213/original/file-20180801-136646-19y6umh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230213/original/file-20180801-136646-19y6umh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230213/original/file-20180801-136646-19y6umh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230213/original/file-20180801-136646-19y6umh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Founder of English Football League? William McGregor of Aston Villa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elliott Brown via Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As chairman the Football League from 1888-1891, McGregor presided over the transition of English football from a (mainly) amateur pursuit to a truly professionalised sport. He was also chairman of the Football Association (1888-1894) and was honorary president of the Football League (1891-1894). He was elected the first life member of the league in 1895 and died in 1911. He is remembered today by a statue unveiled in 2009 at the directors’ entrance to the Trinity Road Stand at Villa Park in Birmingham.</p>
<p>Thereafter it was the export of players that increased Scottish influence on football in England. The <a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/125/273712-on-this-day-in-1892-lfc-thrash-rotherham-in-first-game">first Liverpool side</a> to play a league game was comprised ten Scots and a Merseyside-born goalkeeper by the name of Billy McOwen. As former Portsmouth captain and players’ union activist, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=T06rBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&dq=After+whisky,+footballers+have+been+the+favourite+and+most+expensive+export+from+Scotland+to+England&source=bl&ots=T_qxoiNVby&sig=4kFLoONMnUpHhf73eRr20glUUs0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiG6aCgxsvcAhVIbVAKHTRpBC4Q6AEwAHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=After%20whisky%2C%20footballers%20have%20been%20the%20favourite%20and%20most%20expensive%20export%20from%20Scotland%20to%20England&f=false">Jimmy Guthrie</a>, put it: “After whisky, footballers have been the favourite and most expensive export from Scotland to England.” </p>
<h2>Kicking goals</h2>
<p>James Lang is generally regarded as the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1466097042000279599?journalCode=fsas20">first ever professional footballer</a>. Born in 1851 in Clydebank, Lang moved from Scotland to the nominally amateur Sheffield Wednesday and gained employment in a company belonging to one of the club’s directors before then moving to the openly professional Burnley Football Club.</p>
<p>Ever since – or at least until relatively recently – Scottish players have continued to make their mark on English domestic football. Alex James of Arsenal won four league titles and three FA Cup winners medals as well as runners-up medals in each competition between 1931 and 1936. Dave Mackay, John White and Bill Brown were regular members of the Tottenham Hotspur team that won the first league and cup double in the modern era in 1960-1. </p>
<p>Alan Hansen won eight league titles and three European Cup winners medals with Liverpool with whom his compatriot, Kenny Dalglish won six league titles and three European Cup medals as a player. As manager between 1985 and 1990, he then led the club to its first double in 1985-6 and to two other league titles in 1987-8 and 1989-90. Under his stewardship, Liverpool also won the FA Cup in 1989. </p>
<h2>Managers: from Shankly to Ferguson</h2>
<p>As with Dalglish’s example, it is the legacy of Scottish managers that is most apparent in the relatively short history of the EPL. For example, as manager of Liverpool, Dalglish was building on a legacy inherited from Bill Shankly. Overall in the 20 years preceding the formation of the EPL, Liverpool won the old League Division One title on nine occasions. Meanwhile, another Scot – Matt Busby – led Manchester United to the first ever European Cup success for an English team.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230216/original/file-20180801-136649-1o21c9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230216/original/file-20180801-136649-1o21c9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230216/original/file-20180801-136649-1o21c9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230216/original/file-20180801-136649-1o21c9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230216/original/file-20180801-136649-1o21c9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230216/original/file-20180801-136649-1o21c9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230216/original/file-20180801-136649-1o21c9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bill Shankly: football is not a matter of life and death. It’s far more important than that.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luis Garcai</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Undoubtedly the successes of these two clubs were influential in helping to precipitate the formation of the Premier League which would allow already successful clubs such as Liverpool and Manchester United to become more successful and even richer. So it was ironic that, in the EPL’s third season, the title went to Blackburn Rovers – managed by none other than Dalglish. </p>
<p>But it is another Scot who made a bigger mark on the league to date than any owner, manager or player. Having previously managed in his native country, Alex Ferguson was appointed manager of Manchester United in November 1986. During 27 years at the helm (1986-2013), the club won 38 trophies, including 13 EPL titles and the European Champions’ League in 1998-9 and 2007-8.</p>
<p>So you can mount a pretty good argument that the history of football in England would have been very different without the contribution made by Scots – and the EPL is but the latest stage in that history. </p>
<p>Without going as far as sportswriter Patrick Barclay who <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/after-150-years-the-truth-scotland-invented-football-8756018.html">claimed in The Independent</a> that Scots invented the game itself – “the football that was to charm every continent” – it is surely the case that, given the history of the Football League and beyond, if football ever does “come home”, it will be to Great Britain as a whole and not to England alone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100691/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Bairner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It took a Scotsman to organise a professional football league in England.Alan Bairner, Professor of Sport and Social Theory, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/978822018-06-13T14:27:15Z2018-06-13T14:27:15ZA head injury could cost a footballer more than the World Cup<p>Liverpool goalkeeper, Loris Karius, made crucial errors during the recent Champions League final, including throwing the ball to Real Madrid striker, Karim Benzema. Five days after the match, Karius was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44367148">diagnosed with concussion</a>. </p>
<p>Head injuries can have more serious consequences than losing an important match or <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43057859">ending a career</a>, however. In Europe, it is the <a href="https://www.center-tbi.eu/">leading cause of death in young adults</a>, and football players could be a particularly vulnerable group.</p>
<p>About 1% of people who suffer a blow to the head have life-threatening injuries (mainly bleeding in the brain) and need <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg176/ifp/chapter/Head-injuries">advanced medical treatment</a>, sometimes including brain surgery. About 30% of people develop concussion – a catch-all term that describes impaired brain function due to head injury – with a range of symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting and dizziness, as well as impaired thinking that <a href="https://patient.info/health/post-concussion-syndrome">can last months</a>. But most people who suffer a blow to the head have no lasting ill effects. The problem is that all three groups can initially appear the same. </p>
<p>When a patient is admitted to an emergency department (A&E) with a head injury, a structured assessment and brain scans are used to identify patients who may have life-threatening injuries. However, despite a ton of research in this area, we still can’t reliably predict who will develop concussion. </p>
<p>If a patient injures their head again, while concussed, it can lead to a catastrophic worsening of their symptoms. So the standard advice in the UK is that all patients with head injuries should avoid contact sports for two to four weeks following injury, and they should seek further medical attention if their symptoms persist.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222979/original/file-20180613-32339-f1qws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222979/original/file-20180613-32339-f1qws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222979/original/file-20180613-32339-f1qws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222979/original/file-20180613-32339-f1qws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222979/original/file-20180613-32339-f1qws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222979/original/file-20180613-32339-f1qws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222979/original/file-20180613-32339-f1qws1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jamie Roberts played for 15 minutes with a fractured skull.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27655256">Blackcat/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Assessing a player, pitch side, in the middle of a competitive football match, is a very different challenge, though. Without the benefit of CT scans, the medic must first determine whether the player has a potentially life-threatening injury that needs hospital treatment. Then they must determine whether the player has a concussion and cannot play on. </p>
<p>The symptoms of concussion may not be immediately apparent, making it difficult to diagnose. This difficulty was demonstrated in the case of Jamie Roberts, the Welsh international rugby player, who played on for 15 minutes in 2008 with a fractured skull, after passing a pitch-side medical assessment.</p>
<p>Most footballers who suffer a blow to the head will have no underlying brain injury. A balance must be found that protects player welfare and allows players to safely play on when possible. </p>
<h2>Lessons from rugby union</h2>
<p>This is an area where football could learn from rugby. In August 2015, rugby union introduced a head injury assessment that outlines criteria for the immediate assessment and removal of players with a head injury, pitch side, and for the identification of delayed concussion symptoms. </p>
<p>Identifying head injury in rugby union is perhaps easier, as it’s a full contact sport and <a href="http://www.espn.co.uk/football/blog/fifa/243/post/3091640/video-assistant-referees-football-can-learn-from-rugby-cricket-tennis-nfl">recently introduced pitch-side video assisted referees</a>. The UK Football Association, to its credit, has released recent guidance recommending that head-injured players who have periods of loss of consciousness should be removed from play. FIFA might also want to consider strengthening its position on head injuries in football. Extending existing guidelines to include the assessment of delayed concussion symptoms would be helpful. </p>
<p>Hopefully, greater awareness in football will equip coaches and the medical support team to recognise when a player has been affected by a head injury and empower them to remove the athlete from play.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97882/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carl Marincowitz is funded by a National Institute for Health Research Doctoral Fellowship.
This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Garrett received funding from the João Havelange Research Scholarship (FIFA) in 2015. Investigating the health and safety of female footballers, as they adapt to playing in hot conditions. </span></em></p>Football could take a leaf from rugby union’s book on how to treat head-injured players, pitch side.Carl Marincowitz, NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow, University of HullAndrew Garrett, Lecturer in Exercise and Environmental Physiology, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/972202018-05-25T11:57:27Z2018-05-25T11:57:27ZThe ‘Mohamed Salah Effect’ is real – my research shows how he inspires Egyptian youth<blockquote>
<p>Mo Salah, Mo Salah, running down the wing … Salalalaah, the Egyptian king! </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is how fans of Liverpool FC cheer Mohamed Salah; record breaking star striker, and winner of the Premier League’s <a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/301806-liverpool-fc-mohamed-salah-premier-league-golden-boot">Golden Boot</a> in 2018. For young people in Egypt, though, Salah is more than just a footballer. In a country with <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/egypt-economy-unemployment/egypts-unemployment-rate-below-12-percent-for-first-time-since-2011-capmas-idUSL4N1L14QC">growing unemployment and political unrest</a>, Salah is an icon and a role model – he embodies the ideal of a young person who has achieved his dreams. </p>
<p>Salah comes from a small village, Nagrig, in the Gharbia district, where as many as <a href="http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTDEBTDEPT/Resources/468980-1218567884549/5289593-1224797529767/EgyptDFSG03.pdf">10% of people live in poverty</a>. Salah’s journey began in the El Mokawloon club in Tanta; from there, he joined the same club in Cairo. Coming from one of Egypt’s rural villages, at the age of 14, Salah had to take at least five different buses every day to train in Cairo. </p>
<p>In 2012, he was spotted by Swiss club Basel, and his successful spell in the Swiss Super League attracted the attention of José Mourinho, who was manager of Chelsea Football Club at the time. But Salah’s time at Stamford Bridge was not very successful; he spent much of his time on the bench. Salah had spells in Italy, with Fiorentina (on loan) and AS Roma, before his triumphant return to the English Premier League, with Liverpool Football Club. In October 2017, Salah scored the penalty that sent Egypt to their first World Cup finals in 28 years.</p>
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<p>Over the past ten years, as I have been <a href="https://nomadit.co.uk/dsa/dsa2018/conferencesuite.php/panels/6405">tracking the aspirations of young people</a> in Egypt, I noted how the same unfulfilled aspirations – to find a job, start a family, get a good education – persisted over time. I have also witnessed how Salah’s journey to success, as well as his hard work and determination, have inspired Egypt’s frustrated youth to overcome the obstacles that they face, and achieve their goals. </p>
<h2>Salah the philanthropist</h2>
<p>Despite his fame, Salah has maintained a close relationship with his family, neighbours and friends in Nagrig. He nurtures this relationship by supporting various development projects in his village, ranging from youth centres to schools and hospitals; and more recently <a href="http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/Mohamed-Salah-Liverpool-Egypt-village">a water and sewage station</a>. </p>
<p>At the national level, Salah donated <a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/en/sports/2017/01/10/Sisi-receives-footballer-Mohamed-Salah-after-donating-millions-to-Egypt.html">£210,000 to Tahya Misr (“Long live Egypt”)</a> – a fund established to support developmental efforts following the January 2011 uprising . For Egyptian youth, Salah’s gratitude and humbleness are the traits they admire the most. In the age of brain drain, when <a href="http://www.egyptindependent.com/9-5-million-egyptians-live-abroad-mostly-saudi-arabia-jordan/">as many as 10m Egyptians live abroad</a>, Salah conveys a lesson to Egypt’s migrant youth that they can serve their country – even from abroad.</p>
<p>At a time when Egyptian society is divided, Salah unites not only Egyptian, but also Arab and Muslim youth, too. For years, young people in the Middle East have been <a href="http://bora.uib.no/handle/1956/11630">stereotyped as either terrorists or refugees</a>. So although they mobilised at an unprecedented level during the Arab Spring uprisings, these days frustrated young Egyptians are more likely to become depoliticised, pragmatic or radicalised. </p>
<p>“Mo Salah put Egypt back on the map,” said one young man on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6CtZ1cI5fA&feature=youtu.be">a recent Egyptian TV programme</a>. The display of his boots in the British Museum and his nickname as the “Egyptian King” are evidence that Salah has become an icon for all Egyptians. Improving Egypt’s image internationally is crucial, given its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/oct/21/egypt-tourism-industry-plagued-by-lack-of-visitors">stagnating tourism industry</a> and its negative global image, after the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/07/03/is-what-happened-in-egypt-a-coup-or-a-revolution-its-both/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a6534e34c584">ousting of Muslim Brotherhood’s president Mohamed Morsi in 2013</a>.</p>
<p>What’s more, as a moderate Muslim, Salah provides a new path for frustrated young people to follow. He <a href="https://theconversation.com/liverpool-fcs-mohamed-salahs-goal-celebrations-a-guide-to-british-muslimness-93084">performs prostration</a> after each goal, fasts in Ramadan, regularly reads the Koran and named his daughter, Makka, after Islam’s holiest city. The image he conveys of a moderate, tolerant Muslim not only challenges the dominant stereotypes about Arab youth, but encourages them to accept each other’s differences and unite behind a single Muslim identity – evident in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-icmPutQDk">chants sung by Liverpool fans</a>, such as “I’ll be Muslim too” and “Mohamed Salah, a Gift from Allah”.</p>
<h2>A reciprocal relationship</h2>
<p>The relationship between Salah and his young supporters is reciprocal. He inspires them, and in turn they support him. Salah regularly communicates with his young fans via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, while they rally to his defence when he needs it. For instance, in a recent row with the Egyptian football association over advertising rights, Salah <a href="https://twitter.com/MoSalah/status/990592896062631937">complained on Twitter</a> about the way he has been treated, and asked for more respect. </p>
<p>In fewer than 12 hours, the hashtag #SupportSalah was trending in Egypt, the president of the football association intervened and Salah thanked his young fans for their support. Former Egypt captain Ahmed Hassan said of the incident: “Salah is not only stronger than drugs – he is stronger than everyone else!” – a reference to Salah’s support of a prominent anti-drug campaign. Following his recent ad, which went viral, the rehabilitation hotline <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180409-400-rise-in-calls-to-egypts-rehab-hotline-after-mohamed-salah-anti-drugs-campaign/">witnessed a 400% rise in calls</a>. </p>
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<p>Young people’s dedication to Salah is evident in everyday life in Egypt: from dates and cakes named after him, to Ramadan lanterns, graffiti and portraits of him – not to mention the crowded cafes every time he plays, and the dedicated digital army that votes for him <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mo-salah-wins-pfa-player-14684665">every time he competes for an online award</a>. With their support, Salah was even <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/News/2018/4/3/Egypts-election-produces-surprise-runner-up-Mohamed-Salah">voted runner up in Egypt’s recent presidential elections</a>. </p>
<p>Salah’s relationship with Egyptian youth is a unique one; he represents their hopes and aspirations and is a model they seek to emulate. As one supporter commented on Facebook: “Search for Salah inside you; you will find him in all domains.” </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6CtZ1cI5fA&feature=youtu.be">a recent TV interview</a>, Salah’s message to Egyptian youth was simple: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>You can. Believe in your dream and follow it, no matter what. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This message lives in the minds and hearts of millions of Egyptian youths who see him as their brother, their friend and their role model. When I recently met Mo Salah, I told him: “Mo, you are my inspiration.” Clearly, I am not the only one to feel this way.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>More evidence-based articles about football:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/does-spending-big-in-the-football-transfer-window-get-results-two-experts-crunch-the-data-89184?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">Does spending big in the football transfer window get results? Two experts crunch the data</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ai-could-help-football-managers-spot-weak-links-in-their-teams-90276?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">How AI could help football managers spot weak links in their teams</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-keep-footballers-fit-and-fuelled-for-a-world-cup-97803?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">How to keep footballers fit and fuelled for major tournaments</a></em></p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97220/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Solava Ibrahim does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Liverpool FC star striker has inspired a generation of young Egyptians.Solava Ibrahim, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/866642017-11-02T13:06:44Z2017-11-02T13:06:44ZNew ‘Hillsborough Law’ needed to tackle ‘burning injustice’ and empower victims and family<p>A report into the treatment of the 96 Hillsborough victims’ families <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hillsborough-police-duty-of-candour-burning-injustice-cultural-change-families-tragedy-bishop-james-a8031161.html">by the former bishop of Liverpool James Jones</a> supports the proposed “<a href="http://www.thehillsboroughlaw.com/">Hillsborough Law</a>” – which would force public bodies and public officials to tell the truth. </p>
<p>Titled <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/655892/6_3860_HO_Hillsborough_Report_2017_FINAL_WEB_updated.pdf">The Patronising Disposition of Unaccountable Power</a>, the report looked at the families’ 27-year ordeal – between the 1989 disaster and the end of the inquests in April 2016. It puts further pressure on the government to make sure future victims and their loved ones don’t have to endure years of lies and misinformation. </p>
<p>The report by Jones, who chaired the <a href="http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/">independent panel</a> – which uncovered evidence that led to new inquests – was requested by the prime minister Theresa May, when she was home secretary. </p>
<p>The Hillsborough Law is an initiative of the victims’ families. It would prevent the obstruction and reputation management by police and others that made the 27-year process so tragic. The Law would require public bodies to act with “candour” – simply put, to tell the truth. But “candour” means more than just not lying. It would require the police and other public bodies to cooperate fully with investigations. Under the Hillsborough Law, victims can apply to the High Court or an inquiry chair to force public bodies to set out their position and make it clear what they say they did right, and what they accept they did wrong. </p>
<h2>Duty of Candour</h2>
<p>There is already a common-law duty of candour in the UK, but its limitations were laid bare in the Hillsborough Inquests. For two years, the various police parties refused to accept any failings. They convinced the coroner that the jury should not be told about the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-19575770">2012 apology by the then chief constable of the South Yorkshire Police</a>, who stated that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the immediate aftermath senior officers sought to change the record of events…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>and that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Disgraceful lies were told which blamed the Liverpool fans for the disaster.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These two admissions were central to the Hillsborough families’ cases. But they were ignored by the police and their lawyers during the inquests. Instead they again argued aggressively that the disaster was the fans’ fault. <a href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/cost-of-hillsborough-inquest-to-top-70m-1-7876140">This ensured that the hearing took longer</a>, cost more and inflicted more pain on the families who were forced to endure it. </p>
<p>Under the Hillsborough Law, failing to comply with the duty of candour by a public official or public body would be a crime. If an official misleads the public, the media, court or inquiry, he or she could be fined or go to prison for two years. So in the Hillsborough Inquests, the police would not have been able to pretend that the 2012 apology didn’t happen. It would have spared the families and the public purse <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hillsborough-disaster-how-the-cross-examination-of-david-duckenfield-was-a-shocking-landmark-in-the-10124308.html">tortuous weeks of cross examination</a>. </p>
<h2>From Hillsborough to Grenfell</h2>
<p>Proposed with cross-party support, the Hillsborough Law had <a href="https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2016-17/publicauthorityaccountability.html">its first reading in parliament</a> in March this year, but fell because of the general election. But the bishop’s report highlights the costs of inaction. The letter to Theresa May, and a <a href="https://twitter.com/davidlammy/status/924765067194793985">big push on twitter</a> to coincide with the release of the bishop’s report may resurrect the bill in this parliament – and there is no better time. The Grenfell Tower disaster is another tragedy that will require support for the victims and candour from public bodies. </p>
<p>The immediacy of the apparent failings at Grenfell was shocking. We saw the fire spread with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2017/jun/14/grenfell-tower-blaze-video-explainer?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">terrifying speed on television</a> and soon learned of the <a href="https://www.shortlist.com/news/grenfell-tower-london-fire-blog-post-warning/59534">Tenancy Association’s warnings</a> to the intractable management committee. We saw the <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fears-riots-streets-anger-over-10633012">anger in the streets</a> at the Council’s relief and rehousing effort. Initial demands were made for a report <a href="http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/sadiq-khan-slams-council-grenfell-13326821">by the end of summer</a>, but the survivors and families were forced to settle for a <a href="https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/">longer public inquiry</a> chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick – a retired judge. </p>
<p>The Hillsborough Law would empower the Grenfell victims and their families to demand that the public bodies involved cooperate fully and openly with the inquiry. These bodies would be forced to tell the truth, and be clear about any failures. If the Law is passed, the legacy of Hillsborough will help to create a new era of transparency and justice for victims and their families.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86664/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jared Ficklin is the Director of the Liverpool Law Clinic. Clinic students worked voluntarily on the Hillsborough Inquests on behalf of Brodie Jackson Canter which represented 22 families. Jared is also active in the Hillsborough Law campaign group. </span></em></p>This is about more than justice for the 96.Jared Ficklin, Lecturer in Law, Liverpool Law Clinic, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/852832017-10-11T12:30:53Z2017-10-11T12:30:53ZPremier League giants go hunting for a bigger slice of the pie … and it will harm the game<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189647/original/file-20171010-17673-1028mlt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=71%2C40%2C3301%2C2182&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bangkok-thailand-august-5-logo-manchester-690392746?src=z46AN09ocNAiiWwZaVqSpw-4-69">charnsitr/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the English Premier League was founded in 1992, clubs agreed an egalitarian system for distributing Sky TV money. Skip forward 25 years, and that model is under threat after the 20 Premier League clubs <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-england-finance/smaller-premier-league-clubs-to-argue-for-balance-in-tv-cash-split-idUKKCN1C80TX">met to discuss</a> how to share future international TV rights.</p>
<p>Overseas broadcasters have discovered that Premier League football is a key vehicle to deliver subscriptions. The money paid to broadcast football has increased considerably. Glancing back to 1992 shows broadcast <a href="http://www.totalsportek.com/money/premier-league-tv-rights-deals-history-1992-2019/">revenue of £192m</a>. In the current cycle (2016-19), these payments total about £8.1 billion (£5.1 billion from the UK and £3 billion international). The cost of international rights is expected to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4525808/Premier-League-earn-billions-thanks-foreign-TV-deals.html">rise further</a>. </p>
<p>Six clubs now want a change in the formula for spreading this source of revenue. They <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/sports/soccer/premier-league-tv.html">want a bigger</a> slice of the pie but, perhaps unsurprisingly, many other clubs are opposed to the proposals. No consensus has yet been reached, and a vote on the matter has been deferred until November.</p>
<h2>The Big Six?</h2>
<p>The dissent in the ranks is driven by the “Big Six” clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. They believe they are the key force behind the popularity of the Premier League in overseas territories, and are therefore entitled to greater financial reward.</p>
<p>In 2016, the Big Six received 70% of Premier League matchday income, 77% of commercial income, but “only” 43% of broadcast income. In their mind, they are effectively subsidising the other clubs. The argument put forward is that overseas TV fans will only tune in to watch the Big Six. They evidence this by the viewing figures for individual matches. </p>
<p>Premier League TV rights are initially divided into a number of “pots”. Domestic rights consist of three pots: 50% divided equally, 25% based on the number of TV appearances, and 25% on final league position. International rights are split evenly between all 20 clubs. </p>
<p>Overall, the ratio between the club generating the highest amount of Premier League TV income in 2016/17 (Chelsea) and that of the club bottom of the league (Sunderland) was 1.6:1. So for every £100 of Premier League TV income generated by Sunderland, Chelsea earned £160. This ratio in other European countries is at least 2:1. </p>
<p>The Big Six also believe that the present TV arrangement <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/sports-business-group/deloitte-uk-sport-football-money-league-2017.pdf">gives them a financial disadvantage</a> in relation to other large European clubs, such as Real Madrid and Barcelona. </p>
<p>Premier League chairman, Richard Scudamore, has <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/09/27/premier-leagues-big-six-fail-first-attempt-increase-tv-share/">proposed a change</a> for international rights whereby 65% would be shared evenly and 35% based on league position (“merit payment”). But this has caused a falling out between club owners. The Big Six want more, ideally identical to the domestic TV rights formula. </p>
<p>One side effect of these proposals is that money paid to relegated clubs under “parachute payment” rules is likely to decrease, as they would not be entitled to merit payments. This would result in about £40m of existing parachute payments moving from relegated clubs to those remaining in the Premier League. </p>
<p>The chart below shows how things would change if Scudamore’s proposal was approved. </p>
<h2>Driving revenue</h2>
<p>Professional team sports need to benefit from the concept of <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/24748668.2012.11868603">competitive balance</a>. First pioneered in the 1950s and taking its origins from North American team sports, the theory suggests that to make a strong competition, you need a contest with equally matched opponents. </p>
<p>However, what tends to happen is that professional sport leagues produce games between teams with <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sjpe.12066/full">unequal market power</a>. One team becomes dominant, reducing the spectacle of the competition and, therefore, its value to spectators, broadcasters and sponsors. </p>
<p>Professional team sports are intrinsically different from other businesses, in which a firm prospers if it can eliminate competition and establish a monopoly supplier position. In sport this doesn’t work. Competitive opponents are required at a level that produces excitement and jeopardy.</p>
<p>This is important in relation to the vote on Premier League TV rights. The league has even <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/this-is-pl/the-premier-league/final-standings">praised itself</a> for keeping broadcast distribution relatively equal compared to other big European leagues. And as a result the games tend to be more competitively balanced too. Smaller teams can invest money to secure better playing talent and compete more effectively. </p>
<p>It is true that top teams in the league have a bigger appeal to fans in a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27369580">global market</a>. But it is also true that what makes the Premier League such an attractive product is that, on any given day, any team has a realistic chance of beating another. And in extremis, a team like Leicester <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35988673">might even win the league</a>.</p>
<figure>
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</figure>
<h2>The thin end of the wedge?</h2>
<p>If clubs agree to the Scudamore proposals, or accede to Big Six demands, then the outcomes will be challenging. </p>
<p>First, when most international rights are renegotiated from 2019 it is likely they will see an increase in value, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/10/05/premier-league-big-six-want-greater-share-overseas-tv-money/">by an estimated £1.2 billion</a> over three years. This will increase the money gap. If distributed evenly, every club in the Premier League would receive an extra £20 million a year. </p>
<p>Let’s not forget, the Big Six clubs are also far more likely to qualify for UEFA competitions, such as the Champions League, where they have a £30-90m financial advantage from separate TV rights. </p>
<p>The proposals will make the Premier League less competitive, potentially reducing the value of the competition’s brand and making it less attractive to viewers. The Leicester miracle will look more and more like a one-off; more likely will be Crystal Palace’s season so far, which has seen the London club lose its opening <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/manchester-united-4-crystal-palace-0-marouane-fellaini-hits-two-as-palace-lose-seventh-straight-game-a3647606.html">seven games without scoring a goal</a>. </p>
<p>When the clubs vote, any proposal will require a two-thirds majority to be approved. The Big Six must therefore convince another eight clubs that they have a sniff of tasting the increased riches on offer for league success. That will deliver another hit to the egalitarian spirit of 25 years ago. Turkeys don’t normally vote for Christmas but if these ones do, the future of the Premier League looks less competitive and ultimately, worth less too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85283/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Will England’s top-flight teams really decide to weaken their global blockbuster brand?Rob Wilson, Principal Lecturer in Sport Finance, Sheffield Hallam UniversityDan Plumley, Senior Lecturer in Sport Business Management, Sheffield Hallam UniversityKieran Maguire, Senior Teacher in Accountancy and member of Football Industries Group, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/729402017-02-20T17:16:42Z2017-02-20T17:16:42ZWhy The Sun newspaper will never shine in Liverpool<p>Almost three decades after the <a href="https://theconversation.com/hillsborough-at-last-the-shameful-truth-is-out-58456">Hillsborough tragedy</a>, Liverpool Football Club has <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-38933817">banned journalists from The Sun newspaper</a> from its stadium and training ground. It is a move that has social resonance well beyond the money saturated realm of the Premier League. And it is a chance to ask why the club demonstrates such an elephantine unwillingness to forget or forgive The Sun’s initial offence – a British national newspaper acting as the propaganda arm for an establishment cover up and a concerted defamation of the innocent dead.</p>
<p>Immediately after the disaster in 1989, the Kop stand at Anfield was transformed into an avalanche of commemorative flowers and football scarves. The media covered this visually striking event, but what they have never managed to convey in almost three decades, is the depth of sentiment that persisted well beyond the lifespan of those flowers. </p>
<p>When the tribute was dismantled, the scarves were sold for charity. To this day, I still own two of them – one from Liverpool, the other from Manchester United. The two club scarves were bought twisted together as a poignant reminder of a solidarity that transcends tribal affinity. Fans from visiting clubs now routinely leave keepsakes when they pay their respects at Liverpool’s permanent Hillsborough memorial.</p>
<p><em>Gemeinschaft</em> is a term used by German sociologist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-Tonnies">Ferdinand Tönnies</a> to describe the strong bonds of close-knit communities. Its meaning is in contrast to <em>Gesellschaft</em>, which describes the more formal ties of laws and procedures.
The Hillsborough tragedy showed two different sides of <em>Gemeinschaft</em>. Journalists, politicians, judges and senior police, nominally the functionaries of <em>Gesellschaft</em>, were able to draw upon their mutually reinforcing networks of powerful familiarity to defame the victims and their guileless families. </p>
<p>Liverpool FC’s refusal to forgive The Sun (or as we Liverpudlians refer to it, The S*n) is a visceral reaction. It is the flip side of that title’s trademark targeting of the lowest common denominator attitudes and bigotries of the nation’s working class. In and around Liverpool, The S*n faces a level of resentment that a cut-throat commercial enterprise is unequipped to understand. It comes from a place now seldom seen in a society in which the value of communal longevity has been largely forgotten.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157374/original/image-20170217-10217-dbbhor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157374/original/image-20170217-10217-dbbhor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157374/original/image-20170217-10217-dbbhor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157374/original/image-20170217-10217-dbbhor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157374/original/image-20170217-10217-dbbhor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157374/original/image-20170217-10217-dbbhor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157374/original/image-20170217-10217-dbbhor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Liverpool shop.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adrian Quinn</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The tabloid <em>modus operandi</em> consists of isolating a story from any meaningful wider context. In this way it can be consumed by those who are too distant to empathise with the subjects of that tale. Liverpool fans broke that chain of commercially-sponsored alienation through a <a href="https://theconversation.com/finally-the-truth-about-hillsborough-but-you-wont-read-it-on-the-front-of-the-sun-58529">decades long boycott of The S*n</a>, sustained by direct knowledge of the context surrounding Hillsborough. The families of the dead experienced what thousands of other tabloid victims have been subjected to over the years. But in the depths of their sorrow, they found the strength of a whole community to draw upon and resist alongside.</p>
<p>In an age of celebrities, inoculated from mundane reality by wealth and media-facilitated narcissism, Liverpool fans shared raw grief with the club’s famous former player Kenny Dalglish. The city’s most instantly recognisable adopted son attended funeral after funeral after funeral. Later, those fans also witnessed with great sadness how he <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/apr/15/kenny-dalglish-hillsborough-knighthood">succumbed to the inevitable psychological toll</a> that dedication took. </p>
<h2>The truth hurts</h2>
<p>The truth did eventually pierce the media bubble, but “bubble” belies the strength of the membrane and the dishonourable character of its guardians. In 2012, for example, PR man Max Clifford was one of the self-appointed commentariat whose opinion was sought by the media over the continuing newspaper boycott. Suggesting that Liverpool ought to move on, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-17113382">he commented</a>: “It’s a bit like we won’t speak to Germans any more because we had a war with them a long time ago. Obviously in Liverpool The Sun is a bad name but not anywhere else in the country.” </p>
<p>As recently as January 2016, Kelvin Mackenzie, the editor responsible for the infamous “Truth” headline, was deemed to be a <a href="http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/outrage-over-kelvin-mackenzie-appearing-10731833">suitable panellist</a> for the BBC’s flagship current affairs programme Question Time. Boris Johnson, who, in his <a href="http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/hillsborough-boris-johnson-apologises-slurs-3334849">infamous Spectator article</a>, sneered at “the deeply unattractive psyche” of Liverpudlians, is now the UK’s foreign secretary.</p>
<p>The S*n merely represents the provisional wing of the establishment’s style rhetorical forces. At the 20th Hillsborough anniversary Anfield memorial, in a rare and vivid instance of truth speaking directly to power, the government also felt the resentment of its weasel words. The Liverpudlian (Everton supporting) secretary of state for culture, media, and sport, Andy Burnham was <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/5160448/Liverpool-fans-turn-on-Andy-Burnham-at-Hillsborough-memorial.html">forced to stop his speech</a> as sporadic heckling soon gave way to the whole stadium chanting “Justice for the 96”. A visibly chastened minister admirably used the experience as a spur to help obtain the official enquiry that finally exonerated the innocent. </p>
<p>The phrase “Justice for the 96”, is well matched by the lyrics to Liverpool’s well known secular hymn, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Singing these words gives voice to the determination of a genuine community who will never walk alone, and will never, ever, allow themselves to be spun by The S*n.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72940/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul A Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Liverpool FC has banned the newspaper from its matches. It’s a fair result.Paul A Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Communications Theory, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.