Football clubs are too important to the communities they serve not to be respected and protected by their owners, Lincoln chief executive Liam Scully has said.
The Imps have come fifth in the latest Fair Game Index measuring how sustainably the 92 clubs in the top four divisions last season were run, and got the highest score of all clubs for their equality standards.
City are members of Fair Game, which had been calling for an independent regulator for English football long before the Government white paper on football governance set out details of its remit earlier this year.
Scully said it was not his or Lincoln’s place to tell other clubs how they should run themselves, but insisted it was vital an “overall framework” for good governance was in place to make sure clubs were not lost.
“Owners of football clubs are only ever temporary custodians of these great anchor institutions within their cities and their towns,” he told the PA news agency.
“For us, it’s respecting the history and heritage of Lincoln City, running it in a way that we believe is appropriate.
“We’re still trying to be ambitious on the field, but it’s about making sure that at no point we’re putting the overall long-term financial health of the club at risk.”
Scully said clubs were “the glue” that held communities together, particularly in difficult times.
“In lockdown our ticket office staff spent the majority of their time almost being matchmakers,” he said.
“We had people phoning up saying: ‘I’ve sat next to Dave for 15 years. I don’t actually know his surname. I just know him as Dave, and he’s known me since I was a kid. I just want to know he’s all right. Would you mind just passing my number on to him and we can have a chat?’
“You then play that forward and you realise Dave is a widow, he’s in lockdown, he’s been really lonely.
“That phone call from that person he sat next to was actually the highlight of his week and then that got him involved, and then they came down to the stadium because we opened our doors in lockdown, we did a picnic every Friday where people could come in at a safe distance from each other but still be engaged.
“That’s why these clubs are assets that have to be protected. That’s why we’re anchor institutions because, you know, when Bury (had their EFL membership withdrawn) or if Derby had been lost, it’s not really the green rectangle that people would miss.
“It’s a vehicle for however many people that sit together to be together, and have that commonality.”
Scully said a new community and skills hub was being built at the LNER Stadium and that its foundation offered services from cancer care to delivering English lessons and offers around citizenship and education to the diverse community in the area immediately around the ground.
Asked why independent regulation was so vital, Scully said: “(Clubs) manage conflicts reasonably well – we compete at least twice a year and we’d almost do anything for a win, but the rest of the time we’re reasonably collaborative.
“When it comes down to those big decisions or those big moments, those fundamental principles, I think the levels of conflict are incredibly difficult to overcome.
“If you’re a director at Redtown FC and you’re also a member of the EFL or the Premier League board, you have your duties and responsibilities as a director of that company, Redtown FC, as well as the wider game, and I think that’s incredibly difficult to get the balance right.
“Self-interest is a really simple way to put it, and it’s a bit of a combative term, because you’ve got a fiduciary responsibilities as a director to both entities and I think that’s where conflicts become very difficult to manage.
“It’s a sensitive and delicate matter, it’s how we unpick that and how do we find fair and fundamental change in our game overall. I think we just need some outside assistance with that.”
Lukaku among five withdrawals from Belgium squad
Romelu Lukaku has joined four other players in withdrawing from the Belgium squad due to injury ahead of Monday's Nations League finale against Israel.
Belgium sit third in Nations League Group A2 following their 1-0 defeat to Italy on Thursday, a result that ended their hopes of reaching next year's quarter-finals.
They are simply playing to avoid automatic relegation when they face Israel behind closed doors in Hungary, with a draw enough to send the Red Devils through to a play-off against a third-placed finisher from League B.
Napoli striker Lukaku – Belgium's all-time leading scorer with 85 goals in 120 caps – has joined Aston Villa's Amadou Onana, Chelsea's Romeo Lavia, Arthur Theate of Eintracht Frankfurt and Brugge's Maxim De Cuyper in dropping out with unspecified issues.
Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne had already asked not to be included in Domenico Tedesco's party as he works his way back to full fitness after suffering a thigh injury.
Sebastiaan Bornauw, Koni De Winter, Jeremy Doku and Youri Tielemans were also left out of Tedesco's squad due to fitness concerns, while uncapped Coventry City striker Norman Bassette has now been called up as cover.
Haiti secure League A promotion, Gold Cup spot with 8-0 win over Sint Marteen; Grenada, Curacao, Puerto Rico also victorious in League B
Haiti extended their unbeaten run in the Concacaf Nations League as they secured top spot in Group C of League B when they hammered Sint Marteen 8-0 Friday.
That win earned Haiti promotion to League A and, by extension, secured their participation in next year’s Concacaf Gold Cup.
Meanwhile, the race in Group B took a twist as Grenada defeated leaders Saint Lucia, while Curacao earned a victory to jump into the number one spot.
Saint Lucia vs. Grenada
Grenada knocked Saint Lucia out of the top spot in Group B with a 4-0 victory at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curacao.
After playing out a goalless first half, Grenada eventually broke the deadlock in the 50th through Jermaine Francis’ header.
Regan Charles-Cook doubled the lead six minutes later with a firm finish from deep inside the 18-yard box.
Trevon Williams added a third in the 74th, before Myles Hippolyte struck a blazing left-footed shot from the edge of the box in the 86th to cap Grenada’s win.
With the victory, Grenada moved to seven points and assured itself at least a third-place finish to avoid relegation. Saint Lucia dropped to second place on nine points, one point behind Curacao, on 10 points.
Saint Martin vs. Curaçao
Curacao registered a 5-0 rout of Saint Martin in the feature game at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad.
Jearl Margaritha stole the show by scoring four goals, two in each half, in commanding fashion.
His first came in the 24th as he used good footwork to lose defenders and blast the opener.
He added a second 10 minutes later, when he pulled off an excellent backheel flick to put Curacao 2-0 up at the break.
In the 54th, Margaritha sprinted into the box and ripped a loose ball for his hat trick.
Juninho Bacuna scored a penalty kick in the 78th, before Margaritha finished off his outstanding performance with another tidy finish in the 80th.
With one point separating them, Curacao and Saint Lucia will lock horns in an intriguing clash to determine the group winners on Monday.
Sint Maarten vs. Haiti
A hat-trick from Frantzdy Pierrot and a Duckens Nazon brace laid the platform for Haiti’s 8-0 beating of Sint Maarten at Estadio Centroamericano de Mayagüez in Mayagüez in Puerto Rico.
It was Attys Christopher who fired home as Haiti made the most of a corner kick.
Pierrot struck a double blow in the 14th and 25th, with Markhus Lacroix adding a fourth in between in the 19th.
The onslaught continued in the second half as Haiti tallied three more goals in rapid fashion. Nazon struck in the 49th and 58th as Pierrot completed his hat trick in the 52nd.
Mondy Prunier capped the win with a 67th-minute strike.
Haiti, has now scored 26 goals in five matches. They will play second-placed Puerto Rico, who defeated Aruba 5-1 on Monday.
Puerto Rico remains in the hunt for a Gold Cup preliminary spot as one of the best runners-up.
Sint Maarten has been relegated.
Kane club versus country comments 'just a reminder' to England withdrawals
Harry Kane says his comments on club versus country got more attention than he expected and were "just a reminder" to his team-mates instead of a criticism.
England suffered nine injury withdrawals after Lee Carsley's squad was announced, with Kane seemingly questioning the commitment of those who dropped out, saying "England comes before everything".
Despite their many absences, a young England side recorded a 3-0 win over Greece on Thursday to send them top of their Nations League group.
However, the Three Lions have since seen a 10th withdrawal from the squad, with Ezri Konsa returning to Aston Villa after going off with a hip complaint in that game.
Speaking for the first time since that interview, Kane explained he was keen to preserve the team culture Gareth Southgate fostered by using these international breaks effectively.
"All the players try and give their best whenever they come with England. I know it's a really tough stage of the season," he said in a press conference.
"Whoever is in the squad is the most important thing. Whatever we have here is all we can work with.
"Going forward there are always going to be injuries, it is just whoever is with the squad is ready to make a difference."
On the attention his comments got, Kane added: "I didn't expect it to get as much coverage as it did. The November camp has always been difficult - you're in the heart of a lot of games.
"So, it's just my opinion that it is really important after a major championship, where September, October, November camps are really important in a year ahead to the World Cup.
"These are the camps as well where you build that culture and that togetherness that lead you into a World Cup. It was just a reminder that it's really, really special to play for England."
Kane started the match against Greece on the bench, with Ollie Watkins leading the line in his place. The Villa forward scored seven minutes in, before being replaced by the England captain in the 66th minute.
Interim boss Carsley, who is taking charge of his final game before Thomas Tuchel takes over on January 1, confirmed that Kane would be back in the starting line-up against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.
"Yes, he is definitely playing," Carsley said.
"With Harry Kane, you always think goals, but he brings a lot more to the squad and the team than that. His leadership skills, he's a good guy, which is really important as well.
"The example he sets to the younger players, he's a crucial part of the England team and also moving forward."
England and Greece are both level on 12 points after five games, but the former have a better head-to-head goal difference, so a win over Ireland would see them promoted back to League A.
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