A new regulator can let football down, but the Premier League does not need to change

I don’t imagine Pep Guardiola is sitting in his office thinking about ways to change a winning formula. So why do we even want that?

The Premier League is the market leader in football. It is the most watched, most loved and most trusted competition in the world.

It attracts the biggest names to these shores and is also one of Britain’s most respected global exports.

But we’re told that’s not good enough. The game needs a government-approved regulator.

Hmm. Think for a moment about the regulators.

They’ve done a fantastic job cleaning up our rivers, haven’t they? And what about ridding the city of devious bankers?

Everywhere you look, heavily regulated industries have caused massive failures.

The General Dental Council claims it is the UK regulator for dental professionals.

Try to book an NHS appointment with your local dentist now. It’s nothing to laugh about, even if you still have teeth left.

This country has many great institutions and organizations, from our leading universities to our remarkable record in film, music, fashion and the arts. But I would say the Premier League is our biggest success story.

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There was a time when foreigners coming to Britain asked their taxi driver if they had ever met the Queen. But today they want to talk about the Premier League.

Voices have supported this regulator-will-make-things-better nonsense, saying: ‘The football pyramid is suffering. The greedy grabbers at the top are not giving any support to the lower leagues.” Waste.

About 16 percent of Premier League revenue goes directly to the rest of the pyramid and contributes to the championship title SIXTH richest competition in Europe.

The Premier League provides 94,000 jobs and pays £4 billion a year in tax revenue for the country. And remember: it’s played in Newcastle and Nottingham, Burnley and Brighton. It’s not just flashy old London Town.

Moreover, international fans follow not just one team, but the entire competition, because it is an exciting, unpredictable competition, with over a century of tradition and history.

The Premier League has competition from the Champions League and, to some extent, the NFL. It means we can compete for the biggest stars that children can see on their club pitch and dream of.

This legislation would make England the first major country to enforce a regulator.

So by common consent we have the best competition in the world, played in some of the best stadiums, but we want to risk that. Why?

‘We need another level of regulation, like a hole in the head’

I have heard supporters say that a regulator would not drive away investment or damage the competitive nature of the Premier League, but where is the evidence for that?

All we know is that a regulator is adding a new level of red tape to a game that used to be simple. Football has certainly had enough of people interfering. Some recent rule changes have baffled fans.

Good luck trying to decipher what is and isn’t a handball these days. We need another level of regulation, like a hole in the head.

We have been leading in the football world for many years. But it’s not guaranteed that this will last forever.

UEFA and FIFA are always trying to get a bigger piece of the football pie and if they had their way, the domestic leagues would just be cannon fodder for their own.

There are broken regulators everywhere you look and if you can find one that has actually improved our daily lives, you are a better man or woman than me.

Football. We are good at it. We are the envy of the world, with Latvian fans cheering on Liverpool, Manchurians supporting Manchester City, Luton fans in Liberia and Bulgarians loving Brighton.

If ever there was an own goal, this is definitely it.