Keir's own goal? Labour's pick for new football regulator chief risks fresh 'cronyism' row as he reveals he donated to both Starmer's and Lisa Nandy's leadership campaigns
Labour 's pick to lead football's new regulator risked fresh claims of cronyism today after revealing he personally donated to Sir Keir Starmer and Lisa Nandy.
David Kogan, who is the Government's preferred candidate to chair the watchdog, admitted previously giving cash to both the Prime Minister and Culture Secretary.
He told MPs this morning he had donated to the Labour leadership campaigns of both Sir Keir and Ms Nandy in 2020, when they both competed to replace Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Kogan was already facing accusations that cronyism played a part in his appointment, due to him being a Labour donor.
He was also a director of LabourList, a pro-Labour news website, until April this year.
The Tories branded the latest revelation that Mr Kogan helped bankroll Sir Keir and Ms Nandy's leadership campaigns as 'outrageous'.
The said it was 'an example of cronies over clubs, favours over fans' and demanded Mr Kogan be probed over a potential breach of the rules around public appointments.
But Mr Kogan said he had 'total personal independence' from those Labour figures he had previously donated to and insisted the football regulator would be independent of Government.
Appearing before the House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Mr Kogan said there had been 'accurate and wholly inaccurate' reports about his Labour links.
'They haven't actually discovered all that I have done as a donor,' he added.
'So I am prepared to declare now, on the public record, that five years ago I contributed very small sums of money to both the leadership campaigns for the Labour Party of both Keir Starmer and of Lisa Nandy.
'That hasn't been discovered by the press, I'm happy to declare it now.
'But I did those donations - and I did those donations to individual parliamentary candidates, none of whom were MPs - in the belief that actually having a leadership battle within the Labour Party with two seasoned candidates was a good thing, not a bad thing.
'And in the belief you actually want to have good parliamentary candidates to fill good parliamentary seats.
'I have never actually been particularly close to any of the individuals to whom I have donated money.
'So I have total personal independence from all of them. I also think the regulator itself guarantees independence.'
In response to Mr Kogan's comments, Tory MP Louie French, the shadow sports minister, said the Conservatives 'can not support the idea of a new football regulator when it is clearly a political appointment by the Government'.
'Politics and football should not mix when it comes to governance,' he added.
'We are clear football must be independent from government. This is clearly an example of cronies over clubs, favours over fans.
'We will not support the Labour Government in bringing into disrepute English football.'
Mr French said that Mr Kogan's revelations today 'appears to be a clear breach of the Governance Code on Public Appointments and must urgently be investigated'.
He added: 'The decision to install a major Labour Party donor and former director of Labour List as chair of the independent football regulator, without disclosing his extensive personal political donations to Keir Starmer is a serious breach of public trust.
'Fans were promised an impartial and independent regulator, but instead they are being handed a political appointee whose impartiality is already in question.
'For this reason, under new leadership, the Conservatives cannot back Labour's Football Governance Bill.'
Mr Kogan was announced as Ms Nandy's preferred candidate to chair the watchdog on April 25.
He has advised the Premier League, the EFL and other leagues on broadcast rights deals in a 45-year career as a media executive, business leader and corporate advisor.
The regulator's main remit will be to operate a licensing system for clubs in the top five tiers of the English game, focusing primarily on their financial sustainability and how accountable they are to their fans.
The legislation which will give the regulator statutory backing – the Football Governance Bill – is progressing through Parliament.
The regulator is set to be handed 'backstop' powers to impose an agreement on the split of television cash between the Premier League and the EFL if they cannot agree on one themselves, possibly including consideration of parachute payments given to clubs relegated from the top flight.
Talks over a so-called 'New Deal' for the EFL have effectively been on hold for more than a year.
A fan-led review of football was promised in the Conservatives' 2019 election manifesto, months after Bury's collapse.
The subsequent Conservative government commissioned a review chaired by former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch in 2021 in the aftermath of the European Super League scandal.
The creation of an independent regulator was the key recommendation of that review, and the Labour Government has continued the work to make it a reality following its general election landslide last summer.
The Premier League is keen for the regulator to remain light touch, amid concerns over-regulation could damage the competition's growth and deter investment.
The EFL is supportive of the regulator, and believes the 'State of the Game' review it is expected to undertake early on can be crucial in rebalancing football's finances, which it feels must be addressed.
Ms Nandy rejected cronyism claims over Mr Kogan's appointment during the Football Governance Bill's second reading on April 28, and pointed out the previous Tory government had also targeted him for the role prior to last summer's general election.
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