Neutral venue plan 'nonsense', says police and crime commissioner asking for publication of evidence
A police and crime commissioner has called on Mark Roberts, Britain’s most senior football police officer, to make public his evidence for moving Premier League matches to neutral venues.
Arfon Jones, the police and crime commissioner for North Wales, has said the information behind the drive for neutral venues is in the public interest as he derided the plan as “nonsense”.
Jones told The Telegraph that he believes there is “no justification” for the argument that fans will gather outside grounds and said he has been forced to submit a Freedom of Information request in order to access relevant documentation.
It comes after a day of confusion in the neutral venues saga on Friday, when Roberts announced that at least five top-flight matches, including a minimum of three Liverpool games, would be held at neutral venues because of police concerns.
Two of the police forces in question, though, later appeared to contradict that statement, with Merseyside Police saying they had “no objections” to any Everton or Liverpool fixtures being played at Goodison Park or Anfield.
Jones told The Telegraph that too many police forces “look upon football matches as a declaration of war” as he said that Premier League clubs and supporters should be entitled to see the information provided from Roberts to local forces.
“The push to play at neutral venues is nonsense and is not supported by evidence,” Jones said. “At the end of the day, there are not going to be any fans [at the matches].
“They are basing neutral venues on the fact that fans may turn up to the ground, but there is no reason to suspect they will.”
At least 12 clubs voiced their opposition to the original neutral venues plan, which was to move all the remaining fixtures away from the usual home and away grounds. Telegraph Sport revealed earlier this month that Premier League clubs could lose around £70m in commercial revenues if they are forced to play their games at neutral grounds.
“Refusing to disclose the evidence is putting the Premier League at a disadvantage,” said Jones, who says he has never before been denied access to information such as this. “The clubs have not seen that advice, which I think is totally wrong.
“There are hundreds of thousands of season ticket holders for Premier League games who are the voting public and it is in the public interest that the police make these decisions open and transparent.”
Discussions are ongoing regarding the neutral venues plan, with the Premier League not considering the matter to be settled. Liverpool still hope to play their remaining games at Anfield, although manager Jurgen Klopp said it was “not important” where they won the title.
In a statement to The Telegraph, Roberts said there will be an “ongoing dialogue” with the Premier League and that the top flight has not expressed concerns about the process.
“Discussions with the Premier League have been very positive and there has been a good exchange of relevant information,” the statement said. “As a result of this a common approach has been agreed and there will be an ongoing dialogue.
“These discussions have been informed by various updates from forces, who in turn have been updated with feedback from the conversations with the Premier League. Anyone not party to these discussions would be directed to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
“The Premier League has expressed no concerns as to this process and all relevant people in the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners have been kept updated.”
