Prem chief sparks new England row

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Sir David Richards believes Steve McClaren's side would not have messed up qualification if there had been a greater pool of home-grown talent available in the top flight.

In comments which appear to contradict the views of League chief executive Richard Scudamore, Richards has admitted the policies of the country's top clubs have damaged the national side.

McClaren was sacked by the Football Association after England lost out to Croatia and Russia in their bid to reach the Euro finals.

Speaking at the Third Dubai International Sports Conference, held in the United Arab Emirates, Richards said: "Steve will tell you that he has to have the best players available and the Premier League has hurt him.

"In fact, I would go as far as to say the Premier League has probably cost him his job. Because what we've done, we've actually bought all these foreign players in."

Richards blames the poor performance of the clubs' academy system - designed to develop home-grown stars - for the need to import so many players. He added: "Does the Premier League hurt the national side? I think the answer has got to be yes. We've been a bit lazy in the Premier League over the years. We created a system of academies and every club spends about £3million a year developing young players. But it hasn't worked, because the availability for us to go out and buy the best stars is an easy thing.

"Anybody who comes into the League needs to stay in it, so needs to buy the best stars. We pick kids up at eight years old, we send them to the academy, at 16 we make them a student, then at 18 we say they haven't made it."

In contrast, Scudamore has previously argued that there are enough England-qualified players - 34 per cent of clubs' starting line-ups last season - for the national team to flourish.

Asked about Richards's views, which were reported in today's Guardian, a League spokesman said: "These comments do not represent the collective view of the Premier League."

Richards has not denied making the comments, but claims what he had said was not quite what he meant.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter wants a quota system to encourage development of homegrown players but the plan is being fiercely resisted by the Premier League and the European Union.