MP calls for takeover to be stopped
any owners. Hurst added: “I’m very, very excited about this deal. It’s not up to football fans to make these calls on who should or shouldn’t own a football club.
“I wish it was but all the people who have that decision-making capability don’t agree with me.
“The FA don’t agree, the Premier League, UEFA, the Government – they are fine with it so it can’t be left up to supporters to make these complex calls.
“From a Trust point of view we’ve never really looked beyond Newcastle United with the previous owner. It has been about Newcastle United and how he’s run the club.
“It would be unfair to do something different for this set of owners. We’re certainly interested in how they run Newcastle United but anything beyond that isn’t for us, in my opinion.”
The NUST had tried to re-establish a relationship with the club and some small steps were being made.
But for the current hierarchy, there had been so much water under the bridge that it made it difficult to truly believe things could change. A new board could change that. Hurst explains: “The plan was to get the board around the table with Lee Charnley. That was set for March and then the Coronavirus happened, but whether it would have actually happened, who knows?
“It’s about having a little bit of respect and trust, which are key to any relationship in business or anything else. “You would hope any new owners would trust NUST. We’re transparent, we have a membership of over 10,000, we have a democratically elected board and when we speak we’re not just represented ourselves, they’re representing the members.
“We hope that’s important to owners but it’s not just a one-way relationship. We’re here to help them understand the club and to gauge a large body of supporter opinion that you can’t take from, say, social media.
“We can also provide an insight into certain topics that can help them make decisions.
“We’d love to see new owners engage with us in a clear and transparent manner.”
THE Government has been urged to intervene in the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United with one MP calling for the deal to be blocked,
The buy-out of the club is with the Premier League but the green light for the deal to be complete is taking longer than expected as several objections to the Saudi Royal Family becoming involved in Premier League football arise.
The Public Investment Fund – which will take 80% control of United – is backed by the wealth of the kingdom and issues over human rights and concerns over piracy of televised football games have been raised.
It is the issue over piracy in which the government has been accused of ‘dodging’ by MP Karl McCartney.
The MP for Lincoln has hit out at Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden and urged him to intervene in the takeover of United – despite the fact last month he made it clear the final decision would lie with the Premier League.
“Saudi Arabia, or its operatives, has for years been undermining British football by operating the now-notorious pirate broadcaster beoutQ,” McCartney, chairman of the all-party Parliamentary Football Club group, wrote in a blog published on Conservative Home.
“The Saudis are in the enviable position of not paying anything to watch world-class football – unlike every other country in the free world.
“If this purchase goes through, not only will they receive their UK football on TV for free they will also reap the rewards from legitimate rights-payers like Sky, BT and beIN Sports, who all pay huge sums for broadcast rights to UK sport and whose money goes directly to grassroots British sport.
“That to me is mightily important and should not be overlooked.
“All the while, the rule of law – for which this country, our country, prides itself – is ridden over roughshod by the Saudis. It is an outrage.
“Two weeks ago , my colleague the Secretary of State refused to be drawn on this issue when he appeared before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee.
“Football fans across the UK deserve better from their Government than Oliver Dowden’s dodging.”