Hatters CEO hits out at EFL and FA over Wigan 'sham'

Sweet believes a third party is needed to govern the sport
Hatters chief executive Gary SweetHatters chief executive Gary Sweet
Hatters chief executive Gary Sweet

Luton chief executive Gary Sweet has called for ‘external intervention’ into the governing of football following what he described as a ‘sham’ decision to allow Championship rivals Wigan Athletic to change ownership during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Latics had been owned by Dave Whelan for over 20 years, enjoying promotion to the Premier League and winning the FA Cup in that time, when he sold the club to Hong Kong-based International Entertainment Corporation in November 2018.

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There was a further change of at the helm in May when Next Leader Fund took control, before the news broke last week that the club had been placed into administration.

Paul Cook’s side now face a 12-point deduction, with the fit-and-proper person’s test that applies before to be passed to run a football club now coming under severe scrutiny.

Writing in his programme notes ahead of Saturday’s game with Reading, Sweet now feels a third party needs to be brought in to prevent this from taking place again, saying: "In our last league game before lockdown we travelled to Wigan Athletic, a club then who were, themselves, hitting a good run of form, looked safe and were largely recognisable as financially stable.

"Their shock administration this week teaches us that no club should be complacent and apparently stability isn't all it seems.

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“There are so many issues that can be discussed with this calamity of a situation that I don't know where to start.

“They're good guys at Wigan. Decent people who we’ve got along very well with and people I genuinely feel for at this time.

"However, recent decisions around their approval of ownership leave a lot to be desired as does the EFL and FA’s inability to recognise and block such a sham.

“And for the administrator to claim that their crash had been brought about by a pandemic is farcical

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"It's about time an independent authority was appointed to control licenses to own shares in football clubs.

"If you need a licence to own a dog you should need a licence to be responsible for such an important community asset that is so important to the vitality and viability of our towns and cities.

"To be clear, we don't take any pleasure in seeing this happen to other respectable clubs and deeply sympathise with their supporters.

“But football is rapidly becoming morally corrupt and any club spending 168p on wages for every £1 of income cannot claim sympathy for those trying to operate sustainably.

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"Clubs at every level are too greedy and self-serving and so-called owners are way too egotistical and self-promoting to give a damn about the wider game.

“Our apparently beautiful game must be seen as a single living organism, if it is to survive, which means clubs and owners must think of themselves and take responsibility for their club and the game as custodians.

"Wigan may be the first during our virus-hit world, but the signs have been there for years and they won’t be the last.

“I would welcome external intervention by a more responsible party to govern our sport.

"If football cannot keep itself in check, someone else needs to.”

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