Skip to main content

Premier League moves to clamp down on Newcastle

The Premier League is setting up a working group on related party contracts, which will be populated by representatives from clubs who put themselves forward, to create long-lasting measures. The expectation is that they will report back in three weeks to discuss the solution they have come up with.

There are relatively few clubs in the Premier League that rely on major related-party contracts, which is why Newcastle’s submitted a letter claiming that rules forbidding or restricting deals of that nature would be discriminatory. Newcastle feel that new regulations are specifically targeting a very small group of clubs and owners.

Manchester City have been accused of earning heavily from related-party deals in the past. Reflecting on their abstention, one director told The Athletic: “It’s not that City will be massively affected immediately. They just don’t like the direction of travel.”

For now, the 18 clubs voting in favour has imposed a three-week moratorium on related-party sponsorship — a direct result of the fear that Newcastle would try to act quickly by arranging and announcing major new sponsors before all loopholes were closed. A draft version of new rules controlling related parties should be completed by the end of that three-week period, ready for debate and amendments.

It was a warning, as a well-placed executive put it, that Newcastle’s owners “can’t just waltz in and do what City did” after the club was taken over in 2008. The view of the 18 clubs is that almost all of their own commercial revenue is generated through conventional means. They argue that a system whereby owners can use related parties to secure vastly inflated and unrealistic income is unfair and in need of reform.

The aim is to establish regulations that not only limit related-party contracts but also require them to be approved by the Premier League before they are finalised, rather than fought over retrospectively. Clubs would be forbidden from taking the money and then arguing about it later.

Close attention would be paid to market value and inflated deals would be blocked. Industry sources estimate that Newcastle’s shirt deal is worth in the region of £5 million annually. A related company such as Disney trying to pay three or four times as much would be forced to explain how and why that valuation had been reached — and most likely see the agreement rejected.

Although all this is cloaked in good intentions, one is left feeling that a reinvigorated Newcastle is the target.

Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball has commented: 'All are motivated by self interest. Those at the top of the table didn’t like 6 into 4 for CL spots so like 7 into 4 even less. Those at bottom of table see one less potential relegation rival.'

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion.  Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs.  An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...
Post a Comment
Read more

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more