The EPL has "privately canvassed its clubs on the idea of reintroducing a salary cap but, some 50 years after the maximum wage was abolished, has found no collective appetite for such a radical change to the rules," according to Jeremy Wilson of the London TELEGRAPH. EPL CEO Richard Scudamore "visited all 20 member clubs at the end of last year to seek their views on the new financial regulations, with the issue of a salary cap also discussed." Several "prominent owners," including Wigan's Dave Whelan and Fulham's Mohamed al Fayed, have been "vocal supporters of imposing a limit to the spending on players' wages." However, there was "not enough support to convince the Premier League that it was an issue for their Annual General Meeting this year." A rule change "would have required the support of 14 of the 20 member clubs." English football "has not had any limit on player wages since 1961," and Scudamore "has always had reservations about the workability of any salary cap, particularly as it would appear to conflict with European Union law." However, UEFA officials "believe that they are implementing a form of salary restriction by implementing the principle that clubs should not spend more than they earn." Wilson notes under the UEFA rules, which will go into effect in the '11-12 accounting year, clubs will be "allowed to accumulate as much as" US$72M in losses "in the first two accounting years as long as it has been written off as equity by a benefactor" (London TELEGRAPH, 1/18).
