Sadiq Khan demands Premier League matches are played in USA - despite football fan fury

The Mayor of London has put his foot on the scales in the debate over US Premier League games (Image: Getty)

Sadiq Khan has weighed in on the furious debate over whether Britain should let Premier League games be played across the pond - with the London Mayor controversially supporting a US move for top-flight games.

American TV giants have been applying pressure to stage some Premier League football for some time, with NBC increasing demands to have at least two matches on US soil at the start of the season.

Khan said on the Sports Agents podcast: "Liverpool, the club I support as Mayor of London, are currently on tour in America. They have big fans in America. Why can't those fans see a competitive game?"

The mayor of the largest city in the UK argued that this is just "the way that it's going," with huge sports games, that draw fans from around the world.

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Sadiq Khan, a Liverpool fan, has backed moving some Premier League games abroad (Image: Getty)

The Mail reports that TV executives and other big names in American media are calling for a 'Manchester United vs Chelsea in New York'. Meanwhile, the Premier League's chief executive Richard Masters recently admitted the "door looks ajar" for some games to be played overseas.

The debate is highly controversial with traditional Britih football fans outraged at the prospect.

Last month, Liverpool chairman Tom Warner sparked backlash after appearing keen to see more action stateside, telling the Financial Times that he is "determined" to see Premier League games played in the US.

Now, Mayor Khan has added his two cents to the mix, going further on the podcast, saying: "We've seen other leagues across Europe play competitive games elsewhere. All 32 NFL teams have played in London, all of them have had a great experience. We have some of the top baseball teams playing in London.

"There are lots of obstacles, but I think that's the way it's going. It's very important to take the fans with you. We don't want fans missing out on more than one or two games a season in their home stadium."

'The key thing for our fans is to make sure our fans don't lose out' (Image: Getty)

"When you look at the way the Premier League works, a lot of the money the clubs receive comes from TV rights," he added.

"The key thing for our fans is to make sure our fans don't lose out. To make sure the games are in the right time zones, that the players are looked after when they come back.

"One of the things we learnt from American Football is that often when the players go back the next game is an issue due to time zones and diet."

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Sadiq Khan demands Premier League matches are played in USA - despite football fan fury

Sadiq Khan demands Premier League matches are played in USA - despite football fan fury

Sadiq Khan demands Premier League matches are played in USA - despite football fan fury

Sadiq Khan demands Premier League matches are played in USA - despite football fan fury

Sadiq Khan demands Premier League matches are played in USA - despite football fan fury