MORE than 150 people in Hexham have helped trigger an upcoming Parliamentary debate over the introduction of an independent regulator for football.

A petition, sparked by controversial plans for a European Super League, has been backed by more than 140,000 fans across the UK, alongside a number of high-profile former players, including Gary Neville and Gary Lineker.

As of June 9, 173 people in the Hexham constituency had signed the petition. They were among 6,476 people from across the North-East – which has the least signatures of England’s nine regions.

The petition’s creator has said a regulator would “safeguard our beautiful game” from another Super League breakaway attempt – which involved six of the biggest English sides – or other efforts to “put money ahead of fans”.

In Hexham, 49 people also backed a change in the law which would follow the German Bundesliga model and force professional clubs to give at least 51 per cent ownership to fans.