Potential successors to Richard Scudamore invited back for second interviews. Getty Images The Premier League has invited potential chief executive candidates back for second interviews, with La Liga’s Javier Tebas and ITV's strategy chief Tom Betts still in the frame, according to the Daily Mail. Tebas emerged as a shock contender to succeed Richard Scudamore back in February despite his limited English speaking ability. The 56-year-old’s spell in charge of Spain's top tier, which is second only to the Premier League in terms of TV income for a domestic soccer league, has been a success and only last year he was offered the top job at Serie A before turning it down. The offer from Italy would have increased his pay to around UK£1 million a year, still well short of the UK£2.6million earned by Scudamore in the 2017/18 season. At the time the news broke regarding the Premier League’s interest in Tebas, La Liga released a statement saying: 'Javier has a contract with La Liga and not only is he happy at La Liga, he also has lot of responsibilities and many challenges to work on with changing the broadcast landscape, the threat of new competitions and format changes that put domestic competition at risk.' Betts remains in contention having been overlooked when Susanna Dinnage was initially appointed in December 2018. The eight-month hunt for a successor to Richard Scudamore has so far failed to find a candidate able and willing to take on the role of chief executive for the world’s most lucrative soccer league. Discovery executive Dinnage was appointed to the role in December but backed out less than a month later. Since then BBC Studios chief executive Tim Davie has rejected the league’s advances and UKTV chief executive Darren Childs, another target, has stepped down ahead of a reported appointment as commercial chief at Premiership Rugby. Last month it emerged that Sir Gary Verity, the man who brought the Tour de France to Yorkshire, was a surprise contender, but his candidacy was ended when he was forced to step down from Visit Yorkshire after he admitted that he had "made errors of judgement regarding his expenses", with allegations of bullying subsequently emerging. Former YouView head Richard Halton has also been mentioned as an option. However, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, the man tasked with heading up the Premier League’s recruitment panel alongside headhunters Spencer Stuart, has apparently rebuffed calls for an increased salary offer to secure a big name. Scudamore earned a basic wage of UK£900,000 a year, but received closer to UK£2.6 million a year with bonuses, and was given a UK£5 million ‘golden goodbye’ upon his departure in December 2018.
The Premier League has invited La Liga President Javier Tebas and ITV's Head of Strategy Tom Betts for second interviews in its eight-month search to replace former CEO Richard Scudamore. Head of the Premier League recruitment panel, Chelsea FC Chairman Bruce Buck, dismissed calls to increase the role's salary in order to secure a high-profile candidate.