In the past two years, the most lucrative league in world football has had one of its clubs in Chelsea granted a United Kingdom Government license to continue playing under restrictions and subsequently sold because of its ownership by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, another in Newcastle United taken over by the Saudi state-owned Public Investment Fund, and six of them attempt a breakaway to a widely-condemned European Super League.

Influxes of money into English football and ownership concerns are of course nothing new. Abramovich acquired Chelsea in 2003, and Manchester City have been propelled to new heights by the Emirati wealth of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan since 2008 to cite two high profile examples.

Money, money, money. It has and almost certainly will continue to be football's biggest factor. While altering that course may be beyond the powers of the Premier League, it can certainly do more through its governance of clubs to live up to its stated principle of "being objective, responsible and trustworthy. Safeguarding the integrity of the game. Thinking of tomorrow when making decisions for today".

In particular, a more vigorous Owners' and Directors' Test is required in the interests of transparency, fairness and frankly taking a moral stance every now and again.

Russian-Uzbek billionaire Usmanov's interest in sport has long been known. He was International Fencing Federation (FIE) President from 2008 up until his self-suspension in March last year, after he was named by the European Union's official journal as a "pro-Kremlin oligarch with particularly close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin" and became the subject of sanctions by the bloc. He vowed to fight the "false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor (sic), dignity, and business reputation".

He has had significant ties with the Olympic Movement, with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach congratulating him on his re-election unopposed for a fourth time as head of the FIE in 2021, and Usmanov donating the historic manuscript in which Baron Pierre de Coubertin laid out plans to revive the Olympic Games to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne after he bought it for $8,806,500 (£7,108,322/€8,096,256) in 2020.

Usmanov's involvement in football has also been well publicised, including a stake in Premier League side Arsenal until 2018.

Everton were taken over by his long-time business associate Farhad Moshiri in 2016, the British-Iranian billionaire increasing his stake from an initial 49.9 per cent to 94 per cent last year.

Usmanov has never been a shareholder in Everton, but had strong commercial ties up until the invasion of Ukraine. His USM Holdings entered a five-year deal in 2017 to sponsor the club's Finch Farm training ground, and in January 2020 signed a £30 million ($37 million/€34 million) agreement granting the company first refusal on having Everton's under-construction Bramley-Moore Dock stadium named after it. A USM Holdings subsidiary Megafon also held partnerships with Everton.

The club severed its ties with Russian companies and Usmanov in March 2022, but fresh questions have arisen over his involvement prior to that.

In claims reported by The Guardian, Usmanov is alleged to have been present at interviews for five football managers.

An associate of one of those managers claimed that Usmanov stated that he owned the club, while another manager said he was left with that impression.

A spokesperson for Usmanov has insisted Moshiri "did at times turn to Mr Usmanov for advice given the latter’s significant experience in football, but he [Moshiri] made all the decisions".

"Mr Usmanov has always carefully complied with and continues to comply with all of the Premier League’s legal requirements and regulations," a spokesperson added, The Guardian reported.

"In this regard, we can confirm that Mr Usmanov has never 'secretly controlled' Everton FC.

"Mr Usmanov has never owned any shares in and did not exercise any control, either directly or indirectly, over the football club."

A spokesperson for Moshiri denied that Usmanov had ever taken part in a managerial interview, and a joint statement from him and the club to The Guardian said: "Mr Moshiri has steadily increased his shareholding in Everton FC since his original purchase of a significant minority stake in 2016.

"This is and has always been his investment alone, and any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect, irresponsible and not supported by any evidence."

The latest update to the Usmanov tale comes at a time when Everton is at arguably its lowest ebb for seven decades. Moshiri's backing may have brought financial riches, but on the playing side much of that has been not been put to efficient use, and a series of poor football decisions have the men's first team on course for a calamitous relegation from the Premier League.

A muddled, opaque picture has emerged on who is calling the shots. "It's not my decision", Moshiri, attending his first match for 15 months, told Sky Sports News when asked about Lampard's future after Everton's latest defeat today to fellow strugglers West Ham United.

Lampard has since lost his job - an official announcement coming on Monday (January 23) hours after the news had been widely reported by various media outlets.

Yet there is a sense that while he may not have been the short-term solution, he is certainly not the long-term problem. Fans are demanding much-needed change to a club that has become a mess. Relations between the supporters and the Board, led by chairman Bill Kenwright, are damaged beyond repair. The club's governance and performance on and off the pitch has proved substandard on their watch, and casts serious doubt over the suitability of Moshiri's ownership.

In other Premier League news this week, Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) are reported by The Financial Times to be seeking investment in a Premier League club, although this would have to be as a minority shareholder as the organisation currently owns French club and UEFA Champions League regulars Paris Saint-Germain. 

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy reportedly met with QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi last week, with Amnesty International insisting that should be a "wake-up call" for the Premier League, according to the PA news agency.

Human rights concerns in Qatar were well documented in the build-up to and during the World Cup, and campaigners would question how appropriate such an investment would be for the image of the Premier League.

Yet in the eyes of critics, the Premier League has already become a facilitator of sportswashing through the takeovers of Newcastle United and Manchester City. Through Abramovich's ownership of Chelsea for almost two decades, through Usmanov's commercial ties at Everton or through Russian flag carrier airline Aeroflot's sponsorship of Manchester United; it was only the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine which terminated those arrangements. Rwanda tourism authority's Arsenal sponsorship is another questionable example.

The Owners' and Directors' Test is said to outline "requirements that would prohibit an individual from becoming an owner or director of a club", but a human rights clause first proposed by Amnesty International in August 2020 has yet to be added.

The Premier League's model has facilitated sportswashing, six owners who were willing to move to a semi-closed European Super League until a fan backlash put paid to plans, and incompetent individuals wielding enormous influence.

Changes to this test look difficult given the requirement for 14 of the 20 clubs to vote in favour, but fans are being left short-changed by the current model, and the headlines of the last seven days underline the need for a radical rethink if the Premier League is to fully live up to its "safeguarding the integrity of the game" and "thinking of tomorrow when making decisions for today" mantra.