QPRâs new owner and airline mogul Tony Fernandes on racism and polishing a rough diamond TOPICS of conversation are not hard to come by with Tony Fernandes, the gregarious Malaysian entrepreneur who recently added Premier League football club Queens Park Rangers to an empire that includes AirAsia and Formula One racing team Lotus. In a whirlwind half-hour he explains his recipe for business success, discusses QPR becoming bigger than Liverpool within 10 years, reveals the clubâs plans for a new 40,000-seat stadium in west London and his attempts to sign England star and global brand David Beckham. The charismatic 47-year-old (motto: No dream is too big) could not be more at ease in a hospitality box at the teamâs Loftus Road ground, expounding on his ambitious plans for Rangers and recalling the childhood experiences that would later colour his portfolio. But there is an elephant in the room. When Fernandes meets City A.M. the club is still engulfed in a racism row that began almost two weeks earlier, when Chelsea and England captain John Terry was accused of shouting vile insults at QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. Terry denies racial abuse and his club have supported him fully, yet the potential damage posed by separate investigations by the Metropolitan Police and the Football Association (FA) have kept the story firmly in the spotlight. Fernandes and QPR have pledged support for Ferdinand and co-operated with the FA but Fernandes is at pains to point out that, contrary to popular belief and in a development that casts a fresh light on reports of death threats received by Ferdinand, neither the club nor player complained to the FA over the incident. He also rejects the suggestion that a guilty verdict against Terry would wreak severe damage on the reputations of both one of Englandâs most distinguished players and the game in this country. âLetâs put the matter in context,â he begins. âI donât think Anton has complained. I donât think QPR have complained. We have just said âIf you want to investigate we will give you full supportâ, which we have. And we have given our player full support. âI donât think, if it happens, itâs the end of English football. I donât necessarily think if John Terry said it, heâs a racist. We all say things in the heat of the matter. All I can say, as someone who has been watching football for the best part of 30 years, is that English football should be proud of how racism has, in my opinion, become a smaller issue than it was.â KICKED, SPAT AT Fernandes, who fell in love with football via the BBCâs World Service and Shoot! magazine as a schoolboy in England and played striker for London School of Economics (âI was a poacher, but with a different body,â he jokes), vividly remembers the dark days of the 1980s, when terrace violence and racism were rife. âIâve been physically and mentally abused many, many times at football games in the UK,â he says. âI have been kicked, spat at. I used to be scared. Iâd still go because I loved the game, but youâd worry which Tube you took, where you were standing, youâd hide your scarf sometimes. I donât feel that one bit [now].â So comfortable is he in his new role as majority shareholder of the top-flight newcomers that he regularly chats with fans on social media sites Twitter and Facebook, and even met them in a pub for drinks before a recent home game â to the discomfiture of the clubâs media staff. âI wasnât worried about security â he was,â he laughs, pointing at QPRâs press manager. âThey sent two [security] guys who couldnât even get through the door, they were so wide. It didnât scare me for one moment. The fans here are fantastic, they need to be appreciated and I need to hear their views; to show I am like them.â He goes on: âI want to watch a game in the stands.â Will he? âYeah. I havenât thrown it at the guys here yet, but Iâd like to do that, because then you get to really understand what the club is all about.â It is hard not to warm to Fernandes and QPR fans have, with an influx of signings and some good results, including a win over more illustrious neighbours Chelsea, lifting them to mid-table since his August takeover. He has âtremendously enjoyedâ the ride, even if he has been taken aback at its effect on his already high profile. âIâve got a Formula One team, Iâve got an airline, Iâve been relatively public anyway, but football has put it on another wavelength,â he says, launching into a favourite anecdote. âItâs funny: one of the other owners came into Heathrow and the immigration officer said âWhy are you here?â. He said âIâve come to watch my football club, QPRâ. The officer said âYou donât own it, Tony Fernandes doesâ!â He chuckles and surmises: âItâs a global sport.â His wealth was built on AirAsia, the struggling carrier he bought for a few pence and turned into a business worth more than £2bn, using what he calls his âlittle recipeâ. He has high hopes the same approach â âMy whole philosophy is polishing an unfinished diamondâ â will revitalise car manufacturer Caterham, whose name will replace Lotus in his Formula One team next year, and also QPR, who he believes can make money long term. BECKHAM One part of that plan involves moving to a new stadium and Fernandes confirms the club have identified soon-to-be-former BBC premises at White City as the preferred site. âItâs true, but itâs one hell of a job,â he says. âWithout a doubt I think QPR could fill a 40,000-seat stadium, and a bit more. Iâve only looked at White City. Logically, Iâd like to stay where we were born, so we havenât looked at other sites.â Overseas owners have been accused of heresy for floating the idea of scrapping relegation and, in the case of Liverpoolâs American investors, switching from collective to individual selling of broadcast rights. Fernandes is firmly opposed to both proposals and insists he cannot see them gaining sufficient support. âNo I really canât. I think, if we stay up, in 10 years time we could be as popular as Liverpool. Secondly, the Premier League was set up in this structure. Itâs not right to say âDrop this, screw everybody elseâ.â Fernandes, who calls Kuala Lumpur home but has a house in London, has compiled a shopping list for the January transfer window. However, Beckham, who may leave LA Galaxy, is unlikely to be on it, despite QPRâs interest. âI think signing Beckham is dead in the water, to be honest,â he admits. âIt was a nice thought but midfield is probably one of our strongest parts and Iâm not sure where Beckham would play, to be honest. We had initial discussions. It will be nicer in this transfer window because we have a bit of time. Weâve got a list, Iâve told everyone to dream big and they certainly have.â With Fernandes at the helm, it looks like QPR will be giving people plenty to talk about for years to come. iReader http://www.cityam.com/sport/i-ve-been-physically-and-mentally-abused-many-times-games-uk
Yep, he certainly talks the talk; I like the way he says " if we stay up". He's letting us know that he's aware that it's going to be a struggle and so we need to strengthen in Jan. Great to see someone looking down the road and not getting entangled in the here and now; perspective, vision and hopefully the funds to back it up.