Parliament urged to look at sportswashing clause in football bill
Human rights group fears increase in state ownershipBill introduced in March is at committee stage
The United Kingdom’s parliament has been urged to revoke a clause in the new football governance bill that could leave the door open to sportswashing by authoritarian states.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has drawn attention to a section of the bill that, it says, may point the way to a damaging increase in state ownership under certain conditions. The bill, currently being debated in the House of Commons, will define the powers of a long-promised independent regulator for English football but there are concerns that the new body will be unable to step in if the government waves unsavoury new owners through.
