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This story has been corrected. Read below
A high-ranking official at Leicester has criticised a £5 million payment to outgoing executive chairman Richard Scudamore, with the source describing it to ESPN FC as “arbitrary and excessive.”
The Premier League confirmed Scudamore will accept the bonus payment, paid from a central fund of contributions from its 20 clubs and spread over three years. Its primary purpose is to stop Scudamore joining a rival organisation after 19 years at the Premier League.
The Premier League did not put the bonus to a vote. Each club will contribute £250,000 from a pre-existing fund with the money officially classified as a consultancy payment.
“We are against making such an arbitrary and excessive payment,” a source at Leicester told ESPN FC. “We are not questioning Richard Scudamore’s incredible contribution to the Premier League, but a £5m bonus is not the best way to appropriate these funds, nor what the central club pool was intended for.”
The move to award Scudamore the payoff, in conjunction with his existing £1.6m annual bonus, was spearheaded by Bruce Buck. The Chelsea chairman proposed the payment before clubs could officially voice their concerns at Thursday’s scheduled meeting between all 20 clubs in London.
Buck also chairs the league’s audit and remuneration committee and was part of the appointment of Scudamore’s successor, Susanna Dinnage.
This story has been updated to clarify that the comments were made by a high-ranking club official, and that the club itself has not issued a formal statement.
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