Once among the loudest critics of the newly-formed Independent Football Regulator, Everton CEO Angus Kinnear will now take a more pragmatic approach, says football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
Towards the end of his eight-year reign at Leeds United, Kinnear likened some aspects of the Regulator’s remit to agricultural policies imposed by the Chinese Communist Party during the time of Chairman Mao which led to the worst famine in human history. The executive did support some elements of the bill, but his remarks were viewed as somewhat hysterical among many commentators and fans.
Since that date in late 2021, the Regulator’s brief has evolved. And since coming into force in July 2025, attitudes towards it among the Premier League’s executive class appear to have softened.
The Friedkin Group bought Everton before the Regulator came online, but it would have featured heavily in their due diligence before the takeover. Had the deal gone through today, it would first have been scrutinised by the Regulator.
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There was never any danger of the Friedkin Group being rejected as unsuitable owners, but the Regulator could in future block any investment deal that it deems a risk to clubs. For the Friedkins, that is good news, providing an extra layer of security alongside the Premier League Owners’ and Directors’ Test to ensure that bad actors do not become shareholders in the top flight.
There will be extra paperwork for Everton from here on out. Like all clubs, they will be expected to comply with the Regulator’s licensing regime, whose aim is to ensure good governance, financial sustainability and the protection of clubs as community assets.
And as well as potentially costing English clubs up to £149m in its first decade, the Regulator could also force Everton and their peers in the top flight to give up more cash in solidarity payments to the EFL.
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But how will Kinnear view the Regulator four years on from his original critique?
“Kinnear is a pragmatist at the end of the day,” says University of Liverpool football finance lecturer and Price of Football podcast host Maguire, speaking exclusively to Everton News.
“There was some co-ordinated lobbying from Premier League executives when the regulator was announced. That lobbying couldn’t come from the Big Six because they had just shot themselves in the foot with the European Super League. The voices, therefore, had to come from the Premier League’s middle class. That’s why we saw the likes of Steve Parish, Paul Barber and Angus Kinnear being so vocal and lobbying against the regulator so ferociously, along with the Premier League itself.
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“We’re in a different environment now and I suspect the Premier League are hoping a new government can at some point remove the regulator. Until then, however, there is no point poking the bear, so I would expect Angus Kinnear to have a cordial and professional relationship with the regulator.
“I am pretty impressed with what the regulator has done so far. In entirely free markets, there’s no quality control. Having a regulator with influence over who can own a football means the industry as a whole will be seen in a better light, and that will only be positive for valuations.”
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