‘Football has become a plaything for the haves funded by the have-nots’

• I EXPECT this opinion will be in the minority, but as a fan of a club not in the Premier League, the sense of irony at the outrage felt from Murdoch-employed Sky pundits to the breakaway league in search of greater commercialisation isn’t lost on us.

Authenticity was sacrificed for profits in 1992 when the Premier League was formed – the billionaires, oligarchs and hedge funds have been welcomed with open arms, with FIFA and UEFA all too happy to cheer them on.

I don’t mean to have a go at anyone, but it feels like football fans have been under the illusion that they have any real control over their clubs for some time now.

Slowly but surely fans and communities have been stripped of their power and influence by capitalists and speculators in search of profits. Football has become a plaything for the haves funded by the have-nots.

I can’t help but think that the European Super League would have been football’s chickens coming home to roost.

Did we really think that the biggest clubs, owned by an élite, really had competitiveness or fair play in mind when they took over? They want to protect and maximise their investments.

All we can hope is that these developments lead to the growth of a fan-run movement so at least when these decisions are made they are done with fans and communities in mind, instead of revenues.

PAUL SWAN
Bavaria Road, N19