Expert in sports law says appeal could extend saga of who buys club from Ashley for as long as one year
NEWCASTLE United are unlikely to appeal against the High Court’s ruling and will look to continue with arbitration proceedings that could decide the fate of the takeover.
That’s the view of sports law specialist Peter Nunn, who believes an appeal could extend matters by up to a year.
Months of silence on the ongoing takeover saga that continues to dominate the agenda on Tyneside was finally broken by a club statement last week. Newcastle confirmed they remained committed to proceedings, despite a setback in their attempt to remove arbitrator Michael Beloff QC from the panel due to suspected ‘bias’.
However, the club’s legal team were successful in their bid for the ruling to be made public, and this ruling confirmed Lord David Neuberger and Lord John Dyson would also sit on the arbitration panel.
United owner Mike Ashley confirmed to Sky Sports that he will ‘fight tooth and nail’ to push through the deal with the consortium backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The Magpies’ statement in response to the ruling indicated the club is considering launching an appeal. However, legal director Nunn at London-based law firm Mishcon de Reya believes Newcastle will prefer to prioritise the arbitration hearing in a bid to confirm the Saudi-led takeover.
Nunn told The Chronicle: “I wouldn’t think the club would want to drag out the arbitration process for ages. That doesn’t bring the takeover any closer. Given that an appeal would drag it out, I think they probably wouldn’t.
“If they appeal, they have to show the judge actually got the law wrong and that’s not easy to do, and it’s not obvious to me that he did in his judgement.
“They could throw some money at that, but it would possibly take another year for the appeal to be heard.
“I’d assume they’d rather get on with the arbitration, and from their point of view hopefully win it. It seems the takeover is all on ice while this is going on, and presumably the Saudis will lose interest eventually
“Will they still be hovering around in two years? Quite possibly not.”
Newcastle were keen to see Beloff QC removed from the panel due to previous communications he has held with the Premier League.
While they failed in this bid, Nunn does not believe either party should have any concerns about the three-man panel assembled to resolve the dispute.
He added: “For any big arbitration case, and this is a high-stakes one, you are going to get the best people involved.
“They are all very senior QCs, who are not going to get the law wrong in any case. It’s a very heavyweight line up, and Newcastle or the Premier League should have no concerns about that panel.”