' Minister slams 'obscene' salaries
Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe has condemned Chelsea captain John Terry's salary as "obscene" while criticising Manchester United's ticket prices. Sutcliffe believes the sky-high wages and ticket prices are alienating fans.
Speaking at a sports summit in London, Sutcliffe said: "Good luck to John, but it is obscene to be on £150,000 a week. And United season tickets went up by 13% - holders have to automatically buy European and Carling Cup games at £200, that takes it away from ordinary fans." '
It's encouraging that UK ministers are highlighting some of the challenges inherent in today's sports 'market'. It may mean some kind of policy response is likely - though what, exactly, would that look like?
At the end of the day, these challenges are ones that sports governing bodies and clubs need to address collectively. It is, after all, in their own interest to do so, since the current situation is clearly unsustainable - particularly in football, which has been dubbed 'the game that ate itself' (source: the Guardian - an article highlighting the looming crisis in UK football 3 years ago!)... We need action, or there will be nothing left to eat!
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