Newcastle United were not invited to an extraordinary Premier League meeting regarding the club’s Saudi-backed takeover this week, according to reports.
As per Chronicle Live, rivals demanded a thorough discussion over Richard Masters’ decision to allow the Tyneside club their £340million takeover deal with Amanda Staveley, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Reuben brothers.
On a day in which it had been confirmed that legal action had been dropped by Mike Ashley in his Competition Appeal Tribunal case, the traditional ‘top six’ allegedly fumed over the decision to allow the takeover to happen.
According to the report, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United were amongst the loudest complainants.
Some clubs reportedly felt aggrieved by the nature in which the deal was completed last week, as they had very little information relayed to them by the Premier League.
However, as per the Mirror, some of the so called ‘smaller’ clubs were less concerned by the developments.
One executive apparently even said: “This is mainly an issue for the bigger clubs, although there are concerns over the immediate impact on the relegation battle.
“They are nervous that precious Champions League places have suddenly got harder to come by. A lot of the smaller clubs are pretty relaxed about it.”
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Newcastle’s new owners are believed to be aware of the complaints, but insist they’ve done everything in accordance to the rules, and will continue to do so in the future.
It is also believed that the Premier League insisted to clubs that they still have the power to act if a lack of separation between PIF and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia becomes apparent.
