Liverpool power struggle could be investigated by MPs

Apr 26 2008

George Gillett, Tom Hicks, Rick Parry

LIVERPOOL’S power struggle between the club’s American owners will be part of a new inquiry into football by MPs.

The All-Party Parliamentary Football Group is to launch a new inquiry into English football and its governance, and the Liverpool crisis is one of the areas it will target.

The club’s progress to the Champions League semi-finals has been overshadowed by a row between co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Alan Keen MP, chairman of the group, said: “English club football is enjoying great success in Europe at the moment.

“Yet many questions remain about the standard of corporate governance and whether it is best equipped to deal, at every level, with the long-term challenges of the game’s future. This is the focus of the group’s new inquiry.

“The group will examine case studies on governance, including Liverpool FC where the role of the owners has raised significant public concerns and overshadowed achievements on the field.”

The MPs, who published a comprehensive overview of the game four years ago, plan to produce the report in the autumn.