David Pemsel, the newly-appointed English Premier League chief executive has resigned before starting the job.

Pemsel, the CEO of Guardian Media Group (GMG), was set to succeed Richard Scudamore in February after his appointment was approved at a shareholders’ meeting in October.

British media reported that the Premier League was under pressure to look into allegations about Pemsel’s private life that came to light in the media earlier this week before he submitted his resignation.

The Premier League said Richard Masters will stay as interim chief executive.

Pemsel was the third person to be offered the job following the departure of ex-chief executive Richard Scudamore, who left in November 2018.

Susanna Dinnage was originally named as Scudamore’s successor but later declined the role to remain at media organisation Discovery.

Senior BBC executive Tim Davie also turned down the chance to take up the post.

The Premier League said in a statement: “Following media disclosures earlier this week and discussions with David Pemsel, the Premier League has today accepted David’s resignation and he will no longer be joining as chief executive.”