Premier League asked for “urgent clarification” on Saudi takeover as NUFC fan group make contact

Yesterday, NUFC supporter group Toon For Change contacted the Premier League seeking urgent clarification over the ‘unforeseeably prolonged’ takeover of Newcastle United.

This comes after an excruciating four-month wait for answers and follows the Saudi-backed consortium’s regrettable decision to ‘withdraw’ their bid last Thursday.

Here is the letter in full, sent to Premier League CEO Richard Masters:

Dear Richard,

We are writing to you today with regards to the proposed takeover of Newcastle United by the PCP/PIF consortium. We have a number of concerns regarding the events of the last seventeen weeks and we seek to firstly, address them with you and secondly, request clarification on the matters highlighted.

Many Newcastle supporters believe the Premier League intentionally delayed and extended its own due process to facilitate the failure of this takeover. This belief has been reaffirmed by the investment group, which last week described the takeover process as ‘unforeseeably prolonged’. Can you advise if you feel the process was prolonged and what is your response to the investment group’s suggestion that it was?

Speaking to The Athletic’s George Caulkin, Amanda Staveley of PCP commented: “They [the Premier League] were saying ‘you know what, we won’t reject you but we won’t approve you either, so we’ll just sit here for month after month.”

This suggests that the Premier League had no intention of approving or rejecting the takeover and perhaps hoped that the buyers would eventually out of sheer frustration, pull out. Do you accept or reject Ms Staveley’s comments regarding your unwillingness to make a decision, for or against the deal?

Secondly, we are concerned by the number of leaks surrounding the takeover that made it to the press. Supposedly confidential processes, like the Owners’ and Directors test were played out in public and because of this, we believe that an urgent independent investigation into how so much information reached the media, is required.

In summary, we believe that you have failed in your duty to act in the best interests of our club, which is ultimately, a Premier League member. You have failed to consider the key stakeholder in this – us, the fans, throughout this process. We believe the Owners’ and Directors test in its current guise is not fit for purpose. We, like many other Newcastle United supporters feel that the integrity of the Premier League as a competition has been brought into disrepute by your own incompetence to act accordingly and efficiently.

We await your urgent response.

Yours Sincerely,

Toon For Change

As Toon For Change state above, we need answers, and we need them now.

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About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

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