The Scottish Government will host a roundtable debate in May on whether an independent regulator is required in Scottish football after the Football Governance Bill was introduced to the UK parliament on Tuesday.

The independent regulator was a key recommendation of the fan-led review in England, which was promised by the Conservatives in their 2019 General Election manifesto in response to the demise of Bury earlier that year. The regulator will have the power to force an owner to divest in the most extreme circumstances, but the Football Governance Bill that will establish it in law must first pass through the parliamentary process. All of the legislation in the bill will only apply to the top five tiers of English football.

The notion of a regulator north of the border was discussed at Holyrood earlier this year, but Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport Maree Todd said she “cannot commit to the establishment of an independent regulator”, although the door was left open for further discussions. And on the back of the latest developments in Westminster, the Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA) has welcomed the next set of formal talks on the matter on May 8, which will involve stakeholders across the game.

The SPFL board convened at Hampden on Tuesday.

“With regulation of the governance and finance of English football moving apace, the need and opportunity to achieve proper independent scrutiny of how the game is run and owned in Scotland has added urgency,” said SFSA chief executive Stuart Murphy. “While the set-up of Scottish football is much smaller than in England, the principle behind the call for regulation is the same. The paying public in Scotland needs and deserves proper transparency and accountability for our national game. We are open to the form this might take, up to and including statutory regulation. But the days of football in Scotland marking its own homework are over. The debate is now about how – not whether – such independent scrutiny should happen.”

The SFSA’s statement came on the back of communication from the Scottish Professional Football League earlier on Tuesday, revealing that the SPFL board has agreed an “action plan” to address findings from an independent governance review carried out by auditors Henderson Loggie.

Six Scottish Premiership clubs – Rangers, Aberdeen, St Mirren, Motherwell, St Johnstone, and Livingston – last month criticised the game’s governing body following the publication of the 58-page review, with the sextet drafting a letter expressing “serious concerns” and questioning the “independence and transparency” of the report. The SPFL then hit back at a “number of factual inaccuracies” within the letter, which led to a board meeting at Hampden on Tuesday.

An SPFL statement read: “At a meeting today (Tuesday, 19th March) at Hampden Park, the SPFL Board considered the independent governance review carried out by Henderson Loggie. The Board carefully considered all 41 recommendations put forward by Henderson Loggie and agreed an action plan to address them. Henderson Loggie’s recommendations and the Board’s proposals will be considered at the General Meeting of all 42 Member Clubs at Hampden Park on 24th April 2024.”

SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan added: “The SPFL Board met this morning and considered carefully all the recommendations put forward by Henderson Loggie. We will now produce proposals, which will be circulated to all SPFL Clubs ahead of discussion on 24 April.”

Football Governance Bill: Regulator legislation introduced in Westminster - but what does it mean for Scottish game?

Scottish football regulator talks set up for May as SPFL agrees to review 'action plan'