Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has slammed Richard Master’s decision to reject Parliament’s request to release his witness statement to the independent commission and asked ‘what are they trying to hide?’ 

The Premier League chief executive had been asked by Dame Caroline Dinenage, the MP who is the chair of the DCMS committee, to provide minutes of the board meeting that had given Everton a 10-point deduction for financial breaches. 

The Merseyside club fell foul of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules and were given the heftiest points penalty in the division’s history last year. 

However, Burnham, who is a Toffees supporter, reacted to the league chief’s letter – which had been made public on Friday – with a scathing rebuke in which he insisted it proved the case for the introduction of a statutory regulator. 

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham hit out at Richard Masters’s response to the request from the DCMS committee

Burnham asked what the Premier League was trying to hide following the refusal to release minutes from the meeting

Premier League CEO Richard Masters rejected a request to share his witness statement to the independent commission that handed Everton a 10-point deduction last year

‘”… being a private business, it is not our practice to provide or publish minutes of Premier League Board meetings …”’ Burnham began, quoting Masters’s comments in a post on X, formerly Twitter. 

‘The [Premier League] could not have made a better case for a statutory regulator for football if they had tried. What are they trying to hide?’

The Premier League’s CEO had drawn the ire of fans during his government grilling last month, when he referred to ‘small clubs’ while talking about Everton and Nottingham Forest’s spending charges.

Masters responded to a question about fairness by insisting that the rules are ‘standard directions for everybody – not just small clubs’.

He responded to the backlash he received from his comments in the previously mentioned letter published by DCMS, refusing the apologise and seemingly insisting what he said was not his intention. 

The Toffees were plunged into the relegation fight after breaching Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules 

Masters referred to ‘small clubs’ when being grilled about Everton and Nottingham Forest’s spending breaches in front of a parliament select committee

‘As I said in my evidence, Everton and Nottingham Forest are valued and respected members of the Premier League,’ he said. ‘Both Clubs enjoy successful histories, have strong and passionate fanbases, and make a significant contribution not just to the Premier League’s vibrant competition, but also to their cities and local communities.

‘By reflecting the Committee Member’s framing of the question, I did not intend to suggest otherwise. It would be incorrect to infer from this that there is any unfair treatment based on Club size, as suggested in the Committee’s media statement.

‘Indeed, the point I made was the opposite, in that the Premier League Board applies the Rules consistently, irrespective of the Club in question.’ 

Everton appealed their 10-point deduction, with the verdict likely to be announced next week. The club face the prospect of further sanctions however, after being charged for a second breach.