Premier League clubs to discuss away ticket price cap, racism and VAR in shareholders' meeting
Wednesday 6 February 2019 18:48, UK
Shareholders from all 20 Premier League clubs will meet on Thursday to discuss a renewal on the cap on away tickets and what the league can do to combat racism.
Among the other topics under discussion will be an update to the introduction of video assistant referees (VAR) in the Premier League from next season.
It is the first meeting of the Premier League shareholders since 1999 which will not be chaired by former executive chairman Richard Scudamore after he vacated the role in December.
£30 away tickets
High on the agenda will be a discussion on whether to renew the three-year agreement to cap all Premier League tickets for away fans at £30.
The initial three-year agreement is coming to an end in May.
The price cap immediately reduced the amount visiting fans had to pay to watch their teams by up to 50% at the most expensive grounds.
Sky Sports News understands Premier League chiefs strongly recommend the initiative is renewed.
Premier League and racism
Also high on the shareholders' agenda will be a discussion on what the league can do to combat racism in football, in light of recent incidents involving Premier League players Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and most recently Mohamed Salah.
Club chiefs will discuss how they can increase the number of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) coaches and referees in the professional game.
Working alongside Kick-It-Out, the Premier League also wants to increase awareness of how fans can report incidents if they witness, or are subject to, racist abuse at Premier League stadiums.
A plan to work closer with stewards and local police forces up and down the country will also be discussed.
VAR for 2019/2020
VAR is set to be used in the Premier League next season after clubs agreed "in principle" to its introduction in November 2018.
Premier League shareholders will discuss how the technology will be implemented across all stadiums and observe learnings from the Premier League's non-live testing programme which has been in place this season.
A number of domestic leagues, including the Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A, already utilise VAR and UEFA has confirmed the technology will be introduced in the 2018-19 Champions League season.
