EU referendum: Premier League bosses come out against quitting the EU

Remain: Premier League boss Richard Scudamore
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Premier League chiefs today came out against quitting the European Union as financial markets surged amid rising expectations of a remain vote.

The 20 Premier League clubs took a “collective” decision to back the campaign to stay in the EU, said league chairman Richard Scudamore.

It came as more than £30 billion piled onto share values this morning following weekend polls that suggested remain was more likely.

In a day of optimism in the City, the FTSE 100 jumped by 2.5 per cent, or 152 points, by 10am. At the same time the pound leaped, climbing two per cent to $1.46.

Five leading car makers, 10 Nobel Prize-winning economists and a clutch of captains of industry including Sir Richard Branson also publicly backed the Remain campaign.

Mr Scudamore, one of the most powerful men in British football, declared: “Ultimately you can’t break away, you can’t just pull out, you have to get in and negotiate and try and organise and try and influence.”

High spirits: England fans in Saint-Etienne
Getty

He added that opposition to the EU was “incongruous” to the sport’s commitment to “openness”.

“That doesn’t seem to sit very well when you travel the world like we do being welcomed because of the fact that we are open for business, open for discussion, and open for co-operation,” he told BBC radio.

“There is an openness about the Premier League which I think it would be completely incongruous if we were to take the opposite position.”

The Leave camp angrily replied that a Brexit could mean more cash for grassroots sports. Vote Leave’s Robert Oxley said: “EU rules hurt both our ability to develop home-grown talent and restrict access to the global talent pool.

“That’s the worst of both worlds for football fans and the teams they support. If we take back control, we can spend the £350 million we send to Brussels each week on our priorities, like grassroots sport.”

Economist Howard Archer of IHS said the market movement reflected the weekend polls, which seemed to show last week’s surge for Out had stalled.

“The markets have clearly taken a strong liking to opinion polls showing a swing towards the Remain side,” he said. “However, it still looks pretty tight so there could well be some more twists and turns in the last few days.”

The political battle over the EU referendum was overshadowed by the recall of Parliament in memory of murdered MP Jo Cox.

But in a series of interventions David Cameron tweeted: “The UK car industry is clear — we should remain in the EU for a strong economy.”

Directors at Toyota UK, Vauxhall, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW, as well as from component makers GKN and Magal Engineering, backed the Remain campaign.

Mike Hawes of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said a vote to leave would risk jobs.

The group’s chief executive said: “Remaining will allow the UK to retain the influence on which the unique and successful UK automotive sector depends.”

Roy Harvey, chairman of Vauxhall, said leaving the EU would be “undesirable” because the industry benefits from the free movement of goods and people.

Vote Leave said British cars were increasingly being exported outside the EU and Brexit could provide a “boost” to the industry.

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Nobel Prize-winning economists hailing from the US, Greece and France as well as Britain said the UK will be “better off economically” inside the EU.

They said in a letter: “Brexit would create major uncertainty about Britain’s alternative future trading arrangements, both with the rest of Europe and with important markets like the USA, Canada and China.

"And these effects, though one-off, would persist for many years. Thus the economic arguments are clearly in favour of remaining in the EU.”

Boris Johnson urged voters to seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to “change the whole course of European history” and take Britain out of the EU.

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