Shadow culture secretary Ivan Lewis pleads with Premier League not to cut funding to fans group

Ivan Lewis, the shadow culture secretary for media and sport, has called on the Premier League to reverse a £1.2 million funding cut to Supporters Direct, taken away after a bitter Twitter row over the behaviour of its former chief executive.

The Labour minister said the organisation should have its funding reinstated immediately after the grant was recinded due to its handling of a row over abusive tweets sent by former head Dave Boyle.

Lewis told The Guardian “Supporters Direct provides a vital voice for football fans across the country. That voice is needed more than ever before as debates rage about the conduct of Fifa and domestic football governance.”

At an emergency Supporters Direct board meeting on Saturday, Boyle’s resignation was accepted and he had already apologised for his “crude and offensive” language and deleted the tweets.