Newcastle owners, PIF, and Man City owner, Sheikh Mansour, could be booted out of the Premier League after new changes were proposed to the Football Governance Bill.
The contentious issue that remains for many is state ownership of clubs, and under rules being proposed by Labour peer Lord Bassam of Brighton, this would cease.
Since PIF (the Saudi Public Investment Fund) took over at St. James’ Park, there’s been a huge improvement in the club’s fortunes.
One football finance expert believes that in-keeping with the current upturn, Newcastle will soon be able to potentially execute a £90m deal.
There’s also a potential Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules change that would benefit the Magpies too.
However, all of that, and any moves for players that Newcastle have had their eyes on for a while now may all be in vain.
That’s because, as The Times (subscription required) note, if the changes to the Football Governance Bill go through, Newcastle and Man City’s owners will be kicked out of the English top-flight completely.
Lord Bassam’s proposal insists that any legislation has to read: ‘No state-controlled club may be granted an operating licence, and any affected club must satisfy the IFR [independent football regulator] that they have divested themselves of their state-control before applying for an operating licence.
‘A state-controlled club is one which is wholly or majority-owned by individual(s), entities, or entities controlled by individual(s) who are deemed by the IFR or the secretary of state to be under the influence of any state actor, including but not limited to: members of any government or their immediate family, a head of state or their immediate family, diplomats, lobbyists, or other state representatives, or their immediate family, and sovereign wealth funds.’
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