Man City and Newcastle owners fear devastating blow after twist – Stefan Borson
Manchester City and Newcastle United would face issues if a proposal to ban state-controlled clubs from English football is passed.
That is the view of former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider he doesn’t believe the amendment is likely to be successful.
The Times reported on 28 November the proposal has been submitted in an amendment to the Football Governance Bill that will introduce an independent regulator for the sport.
The newspaper said Man City and Newcastle would be forced to change their ownership in order to be granted a license by the regulator if the proposal was passed by parliament.
Man City are majority owned by Sheikh Mansour, who is the vice president and deputy prime minister of the UAE.
Meanwhile, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, owns a majority stake in Newcastle.
Man City and Newcastle face consequences if amendment passed
Borson revealed it would be “consequential” for both Premier League sides if the proposal was successful.
He told Football Insider: “I think the amendment is very unlikely to pass.
“But it does seem to be drafted in a way that’s quite wide and broad to capture almost state involvement of any type.
“It defines state involvement as being effectively the involvement of any MP or a family member of an MP.
“It’s really very broad and designed to capture as wide a set of people as possible.
“I think if it did get passed, then it could be problematic for Man City and Newcastle, and probably some other clubs that are in the mix.
“I haven’t looked closely, but with that definition being so wide, it wouldn’t surprise me that other clubs were either captured or it put other deals off because we know some Abu Dhabi investment is being contemplated for this minority stake in Crystal Palace.
“I don’t think it will go through, but if it did, it would clearly be consequential for teams like City and Newcastle.”
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