Finance guru: Government could ‘step in’ and ban Newcastle owners PIF
The UK Government could theoretically “step in” and ban the Saudi Public Investment Fund from owning Newcastle United.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about nation-state ownership in the Premier League.
Newcastle were bought by PIF in a historic £305million takeover last October after the top flight ruled they have no connection to the Saudi state.
But this ruling has been widely disputed by the likes of human rights authority Amnesty International.
Analysis from the Daily Mail‘s Nick Harris, published via Twitter last Friday (26 March), found that 85 per cent of fans support an independent regulator with the power to ban nation-state ownership of clubs.
Supporters of Newcastle and Man City were the only two clubs who did not broadly support the idea.
Plumley explains that an independent regulator could indeed step in, but that does not look likely in the near future.
“Yes, it would be feasible to introduce a regulator with these powers,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“But then we have to look about how we introduce it. At the moment, the league and its clubs control that. They vote on what happens.
“If you’re trying to block something and it doesn’t work, you have to change the constitution, which doesn’t seem likely.
“The only other option is you force them to do it.
“The crux of the fan-led review was that it will give clubs the chance to figure this out themselves and if they don’t, the Government will step in.
“I don’t think the clubs are going to do it, especially not on big things like this.
“There are legal issues to consider, of course. That’s tricky and outside of my expertise.
“But there is a bit of a stand-off at the minute between the leagues and the rest of the world looking in.”
Newcastle players and staff members visited Saudi Arabia during the Premier League’s winter break earlier this year.
The Magpies, who are 14th in the Premier League, are in action at Tottenham on Sunday (3 April).
In other news, pundit issues verdict on Newcastle signing Darwin Nunez after £55m early talks.