Kieran Maguire tells Newcastle rivals to stop whinging amid new Premier League HQ controversy
The controversy surrounding the law firm that helped clear the Newcastle United takeover is a “storm in a teacup”.
So says finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the alleged conflict of interest within the Premier League.
Peter McCormick, who was previously vice chairman of the FA, was named chairman of the top flight on an interim basis back in January.
Per The Times last Monday (11 April), a law firm run by McCormick was involved in background checks on the Newcastle takeover last October.
The same outlet updated last Friday (15 April), claiming that top-flight clubs are furious that they have been kept in the dark about the association.
But Maguire argues that the matter has been overblown.
“I think this is a bit of a storm in a teacup,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“Law firms work with a variety of commercial clients and they have ‘Chinese walls’ in their organisations to ensure there are no conflicts of interest.
“So, while the system is imperfect, the other clubs are being over-excited about it. It doesn’t look brilliant but these sorts of things happen all the time.
“Ultimately, there aren’t that many large firms in these industries so things like this are bound to happen.“
McCormick’s law firm, McCormicks Solicitors, is also in line to conduct due diligence on the Chelsea takeover.
Three bidders remain in the race to buy the Stanford Bridge outfit following Roman Abramovich’s forced retrenchment.
In other news, Medical expert claims Ryan Fraser injury may be worse than thought amid “conflicting” Newcastle United news.