Information for Whistleblowers | Independent Football Regulator

Introduction

Whistleblowing is when an individual has concerns about certain types of wrongdoing, risk or malpractice carried out by their employer or ex-employer and seeks to disclose information about their concerns in the Public Interest. If you suspect wrongdoing in your workplace, you should follow the whistleblowing procedures in your own organisation. If there aren’t any, or you are not comfortable reporting the matter internally, there are a number of prescribed bodies to whom you can report in confidence.

Reporting to a Whistleblowing prescribed body

You can find useful advice on who the Whistleblowing prescribed bodies are on the gov.uk website.

If you require advice on what is protected by Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (‘PIDA’) and how best to raise your concern, you may want to

speak to your own solicitor
speak to Protect, an independent whistleblowing charity - you can look at their website or contact them on their free, confidential advice line on 020 3117 2520
consider familiarising yourself with the legal protections offered to whistleblowers by PIDA.

The Independent Football Regulator cannot give legal advice or intervene in matters of employment relations, and we have no powers to determine whether PIDA protection applies.

Whistleblowing to the Independent Football Regulator (‘IFR’)

The Independent Football Regulator is NOT currently a whistleblowing prescribed body under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, but you can still raise a genuine concern about a suspected wrongdoing committed by Regulated Entities relating to any obligations placed on them under the Football Governance Act 2025 to the IFR.

Where to make a whistleblower report to the IFR

Please use this form, clearly indicating that you consider you are a whistleblower. We will then log your disclosure and fully assess your referral.

Where to make a non-whistleblower report to the IFR

The IFR is committed to being fair, transparent and accountable in everything we do. We recognise that individuals or organisations may sometimes wish to contact us. Even if you do not fit into the criteria below but do have a report to make relating to the IFR’s functions, please do still report it via our reporting lines. It simply means you will not be formally classified as a whistleblower by the IFR. You should read through the information here to make sure your enquiry reaches the right team.

Who is a whistleblower

To be assessed as a whistleblower by the IFR, you must be one of the following:

● a permanent or temporary employee, agency staff or contractor working in or for an IFR Regulated Entity (see below for definition)

● an individual who is aware of wrongdoing due to a close personal relationship (for example, if your partner works for a Regulated Entity and has witnessed wrongdoing)

● a family member or close associate of an individual who is committing wrongdoing at a Regulated Entity

The types of whistleblowing concern that can be reported to the IFR

For a concern to be classified as whistleblowing by the IFR, it must serve the public interest rather than being solely a personal grievance or complaint that is being made wholly or partially for personal gain. It can be something that has happened, is happening or is likely to happen. Any disclosure must be from individuals who have witnessed or are aware of wrongdoing committed by or taking place within IFR Regulated Entities, in relation to any matters regulated by the IFR, including any attempts to conceal any such wrongdoing.

Any disclosure must also relate to concerns about wrongdoing in relation to the various obligations, prohibitions and requirements placed upon Regulated Entities under the Football Governance Act 2025, examples include concerns related to:

● the suitability of owners, officers and senior managers at regulated clubs

● breaches of licence conditions

● failures to comply with directions or orders issued by the IFR

● breaches of duties placed on clubs and/or competition organisers by the IFR

It should not relate to matters outside of the statutory powers of the IFR, for example, football agents, international competitions or on-pitch issues.

Definition of IFR Regulated Entities

For the purposes of this guidance, IFR Regulated Entities are:

· all clubs playing (from time to time) in the following specified competitions:

o the Premier League competition, organised by the Football Association Premier League Limited

o the Championship, League One and League Two competitions, organised by the Football League Limited

o the Premier Division of the National League competition, organised by the Football Conference Limited

· all owners, officers and senior managers of clubs playing in the specified competitions list above

· the organisers of the specified competitions listed above

For an explanation of who would be considered to be an owner, officer or senior managers for the purposes of the Football Governance Act 2025, see further here.

Reporting crime to the IFR

The IFR is not a law enforcement agency and does not take reports of crimes. Should you wish your disclosure to also be formally reported as a crime, you should ring 101 and ask to speak to the police. In an emergency, please ensure you ring 999. The IFR will not refer the matter itself to the police as a matter of course.

What will happen after I have made a whistleblowing report

If classified as a whistleblowing report, we will aim to firstly acknowledge your report within 5 working days, providing you with a reference number. We may then contact you seeking further information or clarification.

You should make clear in your report if you do not want to receive further contact, or, if you do wish to be contacted, your preferred method of contact. The IFR will assess your report to ascertain if further action is required. Where feasible and lawful we will update you with the outcome of the report.

Your Information

We will treat any information you give us sensitively and responsibly. We will restrict knowledge of your identity within the IFR to a minimum necessary to assess and investigate the matter. If we publish anything related to a whistleblower case, we would not reveal the identity of the whistleblower, and we would not divulge that information unless we were legally obliged to do so, for example by a judge in a court of law. But even if we do our utmost to protect a whistleblower’s identity, we cannot guarantee anonymity, as an employer may independently identify a whistleblower.