REGULATOR IS KEY FOR RICK

EFL chairman Rick Parry says Premier League concerns over financial redistribution are "a nonsense" and believes the introduction of an independent regulator is the only way to ensure a settlement is reached.

- Chris Dunlavy

The proposed Football Governance Bill, which would see the creation of a football regulator, was debated in the House of Lords on Wednesday.

Introduced by the previous government but never passed into law, the bill would provide a regulator with 'backstop' powers to enforce a financial distribution settlement if the EFL and Premier League cannot reach a deal.

The EFL wants a 25 per cent share of the two competitions' combined TV revenues and a significant reduction in parachute payments, which it sees as distorting competitive fairness in the Championship.

"If you go to the first year of the Premier League in 1992-93, the difference in turnover with the EFL was £11m," said Parry, who was the Premier League's first chief executive between 1992 and 1997.