Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea fans' trusts and groups hit out at Government

Fans of England’s biggest clubs attacked the Government on Monday night after being excluded from a panel that could help to create laws giving supporters more power if the Conservatives win the next election.

Members of trusts and groups from Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea criticised the decision to deny representatives of at least one Premier League team a place on sports minister Helen Grant’s new Supporter Ownership and Engagement Expert Group.

The formation of such a working group, aimed at removing barriers to community-owned clubs and improving fan engagement with the game’s powerbrokers, was finally announced on Monday morning.

It was unveiled more than three years after a Department for Culture, Media and Sport select committee report into football governance recommended it, six months before the general election, and less than a week after the Labour Party revealed plans to force clubs by law to add at least two supporters to their boards of directors were they to win government in May.

That Labour pledge received widespread approval from fan groups, 95 of which were consulted by the shadow sports minister, Clive Efford.

The panel devised by Grant, meanwhile, will contain representatives only from Portsmouth, AFC Wimbledon and Wrexham – due to them being fan-owned – with Supporters Direct contributing on behalf of English and Welsh football’s other teams. That is despite the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust having advanced the expert group idea to the select committee in the first place.

“It’s disappointing to see no representation for any trust representing a Premier League club,” an AST spokesman said.

Duncan Drasdo, the chief executive of the Manchester United Supporters Trust, said: “It is inconceivable that an expert group can properly investigate the challenges for all clubs without representation from the biggest trusts of the biggest clubs.”

Those sentiments were echoed by the chairmen of the Liverpool supporters group Spirit of Shankly and the Chelsea Supporters Trust.

Grant defended the group’s composition, which will also include the Premier League’s director of policy, Bill Bush, and the Football Association’s director of football services, Jonathan Hall.

Pointing out that the three chosen clubs were selected because of their “experience” of fan takeovers, she was confident Supporters Direct would adequately reflect the interests of its stakeholders. Grant also said she was not afraid to back a similar proposal to that made by Efford if the working group recommended it.

“I’m going to keep an open mind,” she said. “That’s why I’ve set up the group. I want them to look at this and, hopefully, they will work together and come up with some sensible recommendations for me.”

There could also be conflict between those representing clubs and those representing their fans.

Grant refused to be drawn on whether the Premier League or Football League possessed the power of veto over supporter-led proposals, saying simply: “I think consensus will be found. I was a lawyer for 23 years and deals are done if everybody is prepared to move a little.”

She also attacked Efford for speaking only to fans about his plans, which she branded “top-down central command and control proposals that haven’t been properly consulted on with the football authorities”.

Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, said: “The Premier League supports the Government’s plans to remove legal obstacles which make it harder for fans to acquire shares in their clubs and so welcomes the creation of the expert working group. We will play our part in helping the group in reaching positive conclusions, especially by providing them with our technical expertise.”