Supporters’ Trust demands answers from league chief
NEWCASTLE United Supporters’ Trust has demanded answers on the ‘scandal’ of the collapsed takeover bid - labelling it a “terrible day” in the club’s history.
The protracted saga led to PCP Capital Partners, the Reuben brothers and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrawing their offer for the Magpies on Thursday.
Various reports and claims including an interview with Amanda Staveley - has pointed the blame at the Premier League. However, the league is yet to comment.
A poll conducted by NUST showed 96.7% of members were in favour of a takeover that would have brought Mike Ashley’s 13-year spell at the club to an end.
The fans’ body have now written to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters to outline why the bid should have been approved, and have issued a rallying call to members in the pursuit of answers.
An email update to NUST members reads: “For the hopes of hundreds of thousands of supporters to be dashed in the manner they have is wrong.
“We are still in the dark about why the Premier League did not approve of the proposed takeover of Newcastle United.
“The League had 17 weeks to make a decision but made none. For supporters to be kept deliberately uninformed in a process that affects us more than any other is a scandal and things must change.
“To be clear there would be no proposed takeover without you, the supporters. There would be no Premier League and no football clubs without you, the supporters. We need answers and as a board, the Trust is committed to trying to get answers.”
NUST’s update included a short reply received from Masters more than a month ago to a letter pushing for clarity. He wrote: “You will appreciate that these matters are often subject to media speculation but at their heart are due processes, required by UK law and by the Premier League’s own rules, which cannot be conducted in public and on which we cannot comment.
“However, I can assure you that these processes go beyond those required by UK Company Law and they are applied with equal rigour to every prospective purchase of a Premier League Club.”