Newcastle United were issued with the threat of being booted out of the Premier League - according to Daniel Jowell QC.
The sports lawyer, representing Newcastle in the club's Competition Appeal Tribunal case, stated in today's hearing that during Newcastle's struggles with the Premier League to get a takeover pushed through, top-flight officials mentioned expulsion.
Newcastle are trying to get their CAT case played out in order for the public to be able to hear evidence with the Premier League eager to push the case to January for the planned arbitration case.
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However, this would take place in private from January 3.
Speaking about the Premier League's threat, Mr Jowell said: "Notwithstanding its threats, the Premier League hasn't carried through its threat to stop the club from participating in the competition."
During an intense afternoon, it also emerged that Newcastle have suffered a loss of £10million between the initial £340million bid from the Middle East consortium and the current market value.
Mr Jowell also spoke of "credible other offers the club has received" since the deal fell through in 2020.
Earlier in the day the Premier League's QC Adam Lewis stated that the deal was "still on the table" for Newcastle and suggested Mike Ashley was yet to suffer any loss.
Mr Jowell said that he hopes the Premier League can reverse the process that collapsed last year.
He said: "Now, of course, we hope that if tomorrow the Premier League came to its senses and reversed the decision, we hope and probably prepare to go forward possibly on similar terms.
"But there is no basis for assuming that PIF will be prepared to wait several more months until 2022 and the outcome of the arbitration and will then go ahead on precisely the same terms.
"That is the only relevant issue for this tribunal to decide.
"Even if PIF were prepared to go ahead on the same terms, St James will still have a claim it has been kept out of its money for two years.
"Given it is several hundred million and two years of compound interest, it is not an inconsiderable sum.
"One would expect it to run into several million."
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