Oasis star and Manchester City fan Noel Gallagher has signed a petition calling for Richard Master's immediate removal as Premier League CEO.
The Premier League champions have gone head-to-head with the league over a number of legal disputes, most notably 115 charges into alleged financial breaches.
This week, both City and the Premier League claimed victory after a tribunal found league rules around commercial deals with parties linked to club owners to be unlawful.
In an astonishing move, City then wrote to every top-flight club rubbishing the Premier League's statement on the matter, further underlining the civil war that has broken out in English football.
It is in this climate that Gallagher, a prominent supporter and advocate for his boyhood club, has added his name to the list of City supporters who have signed a Change.org petition calling for Masters to step down. Mail Sport understands that the account is Gallagher's, rather than someone impersonating the 57-year-old.
Oasis star Noel Gallagher has signed a petition calling for Richard Masters to resign as Premier League CEO
Masters was appointed to the position in 2019, a period that has seen the league at loggerheads with their perennial champions
Mail Sport understands that the account is Gallagher's, rather than someone impersonating the 57-year-old
Gallagher wrote: 'It has become clear that HE is merely a mouthpiece for the red Cartel. He has targeted and continues to target those that will shape the future of English football on behalf of those that are trapped in the past.'
Masters was appointed Premier League CEO in November 2019, succeeding Richard Scudamore, who had held the post since 1999.
The Tuesday, the Premier League drew the ire of City anew when claimed that the tribunal into their Associated Party Transaction (APT) Rules had, on the whole, back their position but had ‘identified a small number of discrete elements…which do not, in current form, comply with competition and public law requirements’.
While the Premier League declined to comment, officials reject any notion that their statement or emailed summary of the verdict was misleading or inaccurate as the row rages on.
In the message, seen by Mail Sport, City’s general counsel Simon Cliff says bluntly: ‘regrettably the (league’s) summary is misleading and contains several inaccuracies’.
‘Of even greater concern,’ Cliff adds, ‘is the Premier League’s suggestion that new APT rules should be passed within the next 10 days.
'When the Premier League consulted on and proposed the original APT Rules in late 2021, we pointed out that the process (which took several weeks) was rushed, ill-thought-out and would result in rules that were anti-competitive. The recent Award has validated those concerns entirely.’
It is understood that City have already received ‘multiple’ responses in support of the email from other clubs.
Gallagher joined scores of Manchester City supporters calling for Masters to be replaced
The Oasis star is a prominent supporter and advocate of his boyhood club Manchester City
The hearing into Man City 's 115 charges of alleged financial misconduct began last month
The searing missive takes another swipe at the Premier League and warns of further, potentially costly, legal action.
The ruling comes ahead of the landmark battle between City and the league over the Manchester club's alleged 115 breaches of financial rules. The hearing into the alleged misconduct began last month and is anticipated to last around 10 weeks.
City, who strongly deny all charges, say that their case is supported by a 'comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence'.