Football finance expert Kieran Maguire insists that the Premier League's 'big clubs' are 'petrified' of Newcastle United's potential takeover.
In last week's Competition Appeal Tribunal hearing, Daniel Jowell QC alleged that some sides were against the Saudi-backed takeover deal, which was due to be completed earlier this year.
Qatari broadcaster BeIn Sports have also reportedly tried to block the move which would see the Saudi Arabian-based Investment Fund buy the Magpies.
The investors had initially walked away from a deal to purchase Newcastle from Mike Ashley last summer after a separate dispute with the Premier League.
But Maguire believes that it is no surprise that the division's so called top 'six' want to stop the Magpies from having a change of ownership due to the financial power of the Saudi-led firm.
"They are petrified," he told Football Insider.
"The other big clubs all want to get into the Champions League, and six into four doesn’t go. Seven into four is even harder.
"The moral and ethical route they are trying to go down doesn’t hold any water when you look at the backgrounds of the existing owners.
"We have got oligarchs, sovereign wealth funds, companies registered in the Cayman Islands. So this is a form of protectionism.
"There is no doubt that these clubs have lobbied the Premier League in order to prevaricate the deal.
"They either want to delay the takeover or make it so awkward that PIF just walks away from the table. That’s ideally what they want."
