Speaking recently on The Guardian’s Football Weekly podcast, New York Times sports reporter Tariq Panja discussed the Premier League’s silence regarding Newcastle United’s proposed takeover.
After over three months of Newcastle’s proposed £300 million Saudi-backed takeover being with the Premier League, the English top-flight’s CEO Richard Masters recently stated that he would ‘like the process to conclude shortly‘ – suggesting that a decision regarding the takeover could be imminent.
However, the mood in the Newcastle camp has been tense regarding the progression of the takeover, with Newcastle manager Steve Bruce even allegedly becoming ‘unsettled’ by the length of the process.
The Premier League CEO was also criticised by an MP for ‘keeping Newcastle fans in the dark‘ with regard to the reasoning behind the length of time that the takeover is taking to receive approval, to which Masters replied: “In a perfect world, takeovers would happen cleanly, clearly and in a timely fashion. Sometimes things get complicated.”
However, in recent comments made on The Guardian’s Football Weekly podcast, Tariq Panja also criticised the Premier League.
He said: “From the Premier League’s point of view, it’s been radio silence from the beginning, yet, every day there’s some new element to this takeover and they’ve been at pains to just not say anything at all. It’s extremely frustrating.
“We also don’t know how this opaque owners’ and directors’ test actually works in practice. You see the list on the website or wherever in their rule book, but no one’s ever explained how it works. But, these teams [Newcastle United] mean a lot to millions of people that deserve clarity, it’s not just a normal company, and there should be a to-and-fro here [communication between the Premier League and fans].
“The other thing that’s really interesting about the Newcastle deal – how it’s in this mess – is, if it was another Saudi person, not PIF [Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia], we wouldn’t be in this mess.
“This is what I find very odd about this. If it was a Saudi company or a brother of the Sheikh, like Manchester City, for example, there is a chance that none of this that is happening right now – the issue of piracy, which I think is at the forefront of this, not the human rights issue, it’s the issue with beIN Sports and beoutQ which is holding this [the takeover] up – if it was just another Saudi, none of this would be here.”
TIF Thoughts…
While the Premier League has undoubtedly had some tough challenges to face in making a decision on the takeover – such as the broadcast piracy issue that Panja touches on, as well as complaints from human rights activists – the minuscule amount of information that has been provided by the Premier League on the deal has, as Panja also states, been very frustrating.
However, if Masters’ comments are to be believed, it looks like there could be a conclusion to the deal in the near future.
Are you feeling more confident about the takeover being completed now?
YES
NO
