David Pemsel resigns from Premier League before starting
Former Guardian chief executive David Pemsel has stepped down from the top job at the Premier League less than two months after accepting the role. It comes after a slew of media reports containing allegations about his private life.
David Pemsel
Pemsel was due to officially start the position at the football body in February after he was announced as the successor to the long-serving Richard Scudamore on 2 October.
He had been praised for his “straightforward style and personal integrity” by club bosses.
However, this week a number of text messages that he had allegedly sent to a former, female, colleague were published by the Sun (which has since removed the story from its website) and later republished by other outlets. Pemsel – married to a prominent ad agency executive – has not commented.
Reports later emerged that Premier League bosses had held “crisis talks” to resolve the issue.
In a statement issued today (29 November), the Premier League said: "Following media disclosures earlier this week and discussions with David Pemsel, the Premier League has today accepted David's resignation and he will no longer be joining as chief executive."
The organisation said that Richard Masters will continue as interim chief executive as it begins the hunt for another replacement.
It’s a blow to the Premier League which had struggled to replace long-term Scudamore after he announced his resignation nearly 18 months ago. Pemsel was the third person to be offered the job.