New episode out today. Football didn’t break—it got optimised. Hook fans, lock them in, squeeze everything out. That’s enshittification, now the game’s operating model. Roy Keane saw it. Arsenal illustrated it. @moneill94.bsky.social explains it. www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...

Our new episode is out! And it's a timely one, given that we're into the World Cup where we've already seen empty seats as a result of the excessive pricing. So it's just as well that we had @moneill94.bsky.social come and explain to us why this points to football's "enshittification." Do listen!

1/ The EFL Championship play-offs have been rocked by “Spygate 2.0”. Southampton FC have been expelled from the play-offs, with Middlesbrough reinstated to face Hull City in the final. A major integrity case in modern English football. ⚖️

Check out my new post! A comparative analysis of football club ownership regulation in Japan vs England — investor suitability, financial integrity and policy goals compared through the lens of regulatory capitalism open.substack.com/pub/markonei...

Check out my latest SubStack on the 50+1 Rule that operates in Germany and Sweden, and how its fundamental cultural values operate in a polar opposite way to the English free market model of ownership markoneill468207.substack.com/p/the-501-ru... open.substack.com/pub/markonei...

@tariqpanja.bsky.social Hi would be great if you could share with your network please? As part of my PhD into football club ownership regulation and how it aligns with the fan perception of ownership, I am asking football fans of all types what they think makes a good football owner. 👇👇👇👇👇

@philippeauclair.bsky.social Hi would be great if you could share with your network please? As part of my PhD into football club ownership regulation and how it aligns with the fan perception of ownership, I am asking football fans of all types what they think makes a good football owner. 👇👇👇👇👇

@uglygame.bsky.social As part of my PhD into football club ownership regs & how it aligns with fan idea of ownership, I'm asking football fans of all types what they think makes a good club owner. I'm also seeking to understand whether a fans level of commitment affects their view on ownership. 👇👇👇👇

As part of my PhD into football club ownership regulation & how it aligns with the fan perception of ownership, I'm asking football fans of all types what they think makes a good football owner. I'm also seeking to understand whether a fans level of commitment affects their views on ownership. 👇👇👇👇👇

Check out my latest post on the controversial Chelsea sanction from the Premier League, and whether regulatory cooperation should outweigh maintaining sporting integrity www.sportlawmusings.com/post/chelsea...

I was interviewed by @matthijsvndam.bsky.social about my findings on Abramovich buying Chelsea in 2003 & how the UK govt knew his close ties to Putin, but chose not to intervene as a matter of public policy to encourage wealthy individuals to invest in the UK.

Check out my latest SubStack post on the history of government intervention into football, and how it's not as unprecedented as many think... open.substack.com/pub/markonei...

Check out my latest Substack post on what was perhaps, the first significant football finance scandal... #MUFC #ManUtd #Football #Sportlaw #FootballFinance substack.com/@markoneill4...

Looking forward to a fascinating couple of days here at Windsor Park in Belfast for @footballcollective.bsky.social 2025 Conference. Also presenting my PhD work on day 2 which will be the first time ever presenting to an academic audience too 🙂 #Football #FootballCollective #Academia

Honoured to join @TheSIpod to talk about childhood sporting memories, sporting idols, and football club ownership 😊 The Sports Initiative Podcast shows.acast.com/thesportsiniti… via https://t.co/V4HYiWgcR9

The end of an informative & impactful @playthegame-org.bsky.social conference here in Tampere. It certainly made me think about issues that I hadn't really considered, the last session on illegal gambling raised some interesting questions for football & it's relationship with betting companies

A rather meaty subject to get stuck into on day 2 of @playthegame-org.bsky.social conference.... Does culture shape practice, or does practice shape culture?

Fascinating talk on sports washing by @julesboykoff.bsky.social at @playthegame-org.bsky.social Challenged my traditional thinking on the topic!

Dodgy owners are hardly a modern day phenomenon either - the scandal at Bristol Rovers in 1950 when a greyhound racing company took control & tried to take control of the ground/land is an eerily familiar example of some undesirable modern day practice & loophole exploitation! #football #sportslaw

one thing I've found since starting my PhD is that I love getting stuck into archive research, learning about the history, looking for the those hidden snippets that shaped the game Looking at the history of club ownership in the minutes & board meetings of clubs in early/mid 1900s #PhD #Research

This is a decision that really smacks of a literal approach (i.e. this is what the rules say & you must stick to them) to interpreting rules and regulations rather than a purposive one (interpreting them in a way to ensure they achieve the underlying purpose of them). www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Absolutely - it's hard to come up with a cogent reason as to why he's doing this. If it's to squeeze a bit of extra money out of Panjab, then its extreme bad faith negotiating. Makes it look like Whittingham has read the Art of the Deal and uses that as his bible....

"I think it's sensible they didn't pick Archer for this game, you don't want to rush him too soon." @moneill94.bsky.social 🏏 England vs India 2nd Test Preview ▶️ youtu.be/WDhZUSIv6MY #ENGvIND

"Is Ollie Pope a long term number three? I'm not so sure he is. Longer term, Bethell will be that guy." @moneill94.bsky.social Watch our England v India Test series preview here ▶️ youtu.be/hkptX9Y_hz0 #cricket #england #india

My latest blogpost on the developing situation at #crystalpalace and their potential exclusion from UEFA competition. - Explain the MCO rules - What are the considerations with MCO arrangements - How they could apply to Palace #UEFA #Football #SportsLaw sportlawmusings.com/post/crystal-p…

Here for day 1 of the @fairgameuk.bsky.social conference at @afcwimbledon1889.bsky.social - looking forward to an exciting couple of days talking all things football and how to make the game fairer for the whole pyramid #fgc25

Great to see Zimbabwe playing test cricket in England again. In many ways the result is irrelevant, what's more important is that Zim give a decent account of themselves & help the smaller test playing countries get more opportunities against the big teams #ENGvZIM

Safe to say that this isn't one that anyone had on their 2025 bingo card - great news for Swansea fans though! Does raise an interesting question as to whether current players should have the ability to invest in other clubs while they're still playing? www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

"Jonny Bairstow has got a point to prove this year. But whether he can manage the demands of captaincy, the gloves and being one of the key batsman remains to be seen" @moneill94.bsky.social 🏏 Watch our 2025 County Championship preview here ➡️ youtu.be/i1EegpWdDMs #Bairstow

This post reminded me of another good measure of what type of person you should have in your life

Fun Fact: In 1906, Liverpool and Manchester United proposed a change to league rules that would have required all teams to have played in either red or white shirts Thankfully it was voted down..... Can you imagine if that had got voted through??

Fascinating talk at the @BASL_Sport_Law Conf on the concept of consent to criminality in sport, and where the line is drawn on this relating to acts on the field of play I wrote about this topic myself a couple of years ago (feel free to check it out).... www.sportlawmusings.com/post/crossin...

Looking forward to an engaging and interesting day here at the British Association for Sport and Law Annual Conference at the Royal Automobile Club Some real thought provoking topics on the agenda, and looking forward to learning and meeting some great people in the sports law space

This is a massive indicator for why there needs to be independent regulation of the game, the PL is effectively seen as a lame duck regulator as a result of this ruling. Will be interesting to see the details of the judgment once it's released... www.thetimes.com/sport/footba...

Excellent example of how these autocratic states react when being held to account for alleged crimes - no idea if allegations are true, but that is what a court is for (unless you're so rich that you can threaten to bankrupt a club just to get your way) www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2025/qatar-t...

My podcasting debut on @padspadspads.bsky.social - thoroughly enjoyed setting the world to rights about England's test match cricket in 2024 Give it a watch and like and subscribe! youtu.be/buUwTGupwQg?...

@uglygame.bsky.social wonder if islamophobic comments from a shareholder will get the same reaction from the ownership.... www.bbc.com/sport/footba...

COMING SOON!! Fair Game Conference 2025 At AFC Wimbledon 28-29 May Building a fairer future for football ⚽️ Workshops on football's problems ⚽️ High-profile speakers ⚽️ Stalls from football's great and good Sponsorship packages now available. Message us to find out more

Want a reminder why football needs a regulator? Ah OK go on then... Watch this 👇👇 youtu.be/iUIdHEW8htg?...

With the transfer window closed, I've always wondered if the hype generated by it contributes to the wider financial ills of the game, particularly in the Champ and below. While understanding the sporting integrity reasons for it, I believe it contributes to the wider economic problems in the game

Any other Football Manager fans on here getting concerned about the lack of announcement or update regarding FM25? @footballmanagersi.bsky.social

They're annoying me already and it's only the opening credits ..... #BBCApprentice #TheApprenticeuk

Nice to see some facts and practicality brought to the immigration debate by @zoejardiniere.bsky.social

Watching Bank of Dave 2 - great film but had to watch the courtroom scenes through my fingers.... 🤦

This shows the real-world consequences for clubs lower down the pyramid. While a replay would have been something of an inconvenience for Tottenham, it could have been transformational for a club like Tamworth.

Reports of Musk being Interested in buying LFC Yeah, that seems sensible LFC a famously far-left club getting bought by a far-right owner. What could go wrong?

I would only be in favour if there was 2 divisions of 6 and 2 up and 2 down. That would create incentives for the Div 2 countries to push and continue to play the format www.wisden.com/cricket-news...

Wishing everyone a happy new year and a successful and prosperous 2025! Been quite a year for me, from starting a PhD to qualifying as a lawyer, with plenty in-between - hoping for more of the same in 2025 🤞🍾🥂

Just watching the Repair Shop and just heard them discussing a "redundant growler"....