European Football Proposal Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Gareth Bacon
Main Page: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)Department Debates - View all Gareth Bacon's debates with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Monday 19th April 2021
(3 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Finance Act 2021 View all Finance Act 2021 Debates Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: Committee of the whole House Amendments as at 19 April 2021 - large print - (19 Apr 2021)
Gareth Bacon (Orpington) (Con)
I have been a supporter of Manchester United for 42 years and held a season ticket at the club for more than a decade, so I am aghast that the owners of my club have signed up to this proposal. It is wholly unnecessary and will be deeply damaging, on the altar of pure greed. It betrays the management, players, fans, history and tradition of not just my club but the wider game as a whole. So I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his statement today and the tone of the statement he made yesterday. Will he reassure us that the Government will move at speed to do everything within their legal power to prevent this ghastly plan from seeing light?
Oliver Dowden
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. His reaction, as a loyal fan of that club, has been replicated: I have heard messages from many loyal fans of all six of those clubs, who share the same sense of deep frustration. I assure him not only that we will act at speed but that we have acted at speed. All of Sunday, I had meetings on actions and today we are moving at pace. I am engaging closely with No. 10 Downing Street and the Prime Minister to make sure we do whatever is required.