London, UK: A rule that prohibits individuals deemed to have violated human rights from running or owning football clubs has been approved by the Premier League.

At a shareholder meeting, the top-flight football teams in England unanimously approved the changes, which went into effect right away. Under strengthened owners and directors test for the Premier League, human rights violations will be one of many new “disqualifying events” based on the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.

A person or organisation subject to British government sanctions would also be disqualified under the new regulations. Crimes involving aggression, corruption, fraud, tax evasion, and hate crimes are now among the offences for which disqualification is possible.

The Premier League also has the authority to prevent individuals from holding the position of the director if they are being investigated for behaviour that, if proven, would constitute a “disqualifying event.” The rules went into force as bidders lined up for Manchester United and ownership of Premier League teams came under renewed scrutiny.

After receiving guarantees that the Saudi government would not have any influence over the northeast club, a consortium led by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia acquired Newcastle United in 2021. Qatar, which held the 2022 World Cup, has come under fire for the way it treats foreign workers. Qatar has refuted the accusations and stated that it has been collaborating with a UN agency to address labour-related problems.

Another measure passed reduces the threshold for what defines control of a club from 30 to 25 percent. The league can now take action against people “involved in previous insolvencies in a wider range of circumstances” because of the expansion of the insolvency provisions.

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