EFL chief Shaun Harvey quizzed about Owen Oyston's 'eligibility' to own Blackpool Football Club

The EFL's chief executive was speaking live on TalkSport this lunchtime where he was quizzed on a number of topical issues including 'spygate' and the Owners' and Directors' Test.

The conversation soon turned to the off-the-field situation at clubs like Blackpool, Charlton Athletic and Coventry City.

Despite having a conviction for rape as well as being found to have "illegitimately stripped" the club of funds, Harvey says Oyston is still "eligible" to own Blackpool.

When asked by presenter Jim White if Harvey can play a part in “kicking” Oyston out of the football club, the EFL chief said: “No. If our rules are complied with or not broken then the eligibility to operate the club is still there.

“With all the scrutiny there has been about Blackpool, if there was any way he was not eligible then he wouldn’t be doing it.”

White challenged the notion that Oyston is an eligible man to be running a football club, adding: “He’s an absolute laughing stock, he should no longer be around.

“I don’t mean to be offensive in anyway whatsoever to Owen Oyston, but I see what appears and I see what the fans say about him - they don’t want him there.”

“They don’t”, Harvey conceded.

“Listen, we’ve had protests at our offices in Preston about it, you’ve seen the protests at the ground, nobody needs to spell out that Blackpool fans don’t want Owen Oyston there.

“The question is: does Owen Oyston have a right to be there? And the answer is, with the rules that we have at this moment in time, he is the rightful owner of the various holding companies of Blackpool Football Club.”

The EFL has previously been criticised by Blackpool fans for its interpretation of its own rules regarding the Owners' and Directors' Test.

The EFL’s position is that Oyston is not banned as his conviction for rape, which came in May of 1996 and saw him imprisoned for six years, came before their new rules were introduced in 2004.

However, during the EFL's meeting with Blackpool fans back in March of last year, Tim Fielding - honorary vice-present of Blackpool Supporters' Trust - suggested the EFL had misinterpreted its own rules and claimed Oyston should not be permitted to run the club.

He said: “Your own definition makes it clear that a previous conviction applies before the new rules came into being.

“The rules clearly infer convictions that pre-date your rules do apply.

“I’m interested to know how a convicted rapist is allowed to own a football club, especially as we have recently heard about the goings on at Crewe, Manchester City and other clubs in respect of the child sex abuse scandal.”