FOOTBALL belongs to the fans, says Deeside's representatives.

Local politicians Mark Tami and Jack Sargeant want to see an independent regulator that will put football back in the hands of football fans.

The comments came ahead of a Parliamentary debate on an independent regulator for football.

The debate is in response to a petition signed by 140,000 football fans and supported by high profile former players like Gary Neville and Gary Liniker, hundreds of people in Alyn and Deeside signed the petition.

The petitions creator said a regulator would help protect football and its fans from proposals like the European Super League.

Mr Sargeant and Mr Tami also support proposals for fan ownership of football clubs that appeared in the last Labour manifesto and are commonplace in other countries, in Germany fans own 51% stakes in football clubs.

Mark Tami MP said: “Football should belong to its fans and we should never again see wealthy owners trying to damage the beautiful game with proposal like the European Super League. That is why Jack and I support the idea of an independent regulator and fans having a meaningful stake in clubs.”

Jack Sargeant MS recently won praise for highlighting the problems with Angela Van Den Bogerd and was heavily involved in the Post Office scandal which saw dozens of post office staff wrongly convicted and some spend time in jail for crimes they didn't commit.

He has also recently become a director of the Football Association of Wales, and has long called for football to be more accountable to fans.

The MS added: “I am a passionate football fan and want to empower fans to have a real say in the direction of the game. I really welcome proposals for an independent regulator as I was disgusted with the idea of a European Super league and am clear that we must take it as warning and act to change things now.”