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Premier League using Newcastle United takeover for piracy leverage but will still go through – Simon Jordan

4 years ago
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An interesting new overview on the Newcastle United takeover from Simon Jordan.

The former Palace owner has become a regular irritant to Newcastle fans but this time I think he is on the ball.

Simon Jordan saying that moral outrage regarding events in Saudi Arabia was the first issue surrounding the takeover.

Then that has been surpassed by the issue of TV piracy in the region, the long running issues surrounding Qatar baser beIN Sports accusing the Saudi regime of being responsible for that piracy happening.

Interestingly, Simon Jordan appears to believe that the hold up is more a political one for the Premier League.

In that the PL owners and directors rules as they stand, are very unlikely to justify blocking the NUFC deal, according to Jordan.

He thinks though that the Premier League are using the takeover to help give them more ‘leverage’ in dealing with the TV piracy. Maybe a case of even if the Saudis aren’t directly involved / behind the piracy, they would still have influence on helping to prevent it happening.

Simon Jordan says he would be ‘very, very, very, very surprised’ if the Premier League block the deal and indeed, appears to indicate that he thinks they would need to be moving goalposts in terms of their current ownership rules if they did.

This very much fits in with previous widespread reporting, which suggested that it was very difficult to see rules as they stand stopping the NUFC deal, BUT that afterwards we would be very likely to see new more robust rules put in place by the Premier League. The owners and directors rules having long been seen as a joke when looking at numerous past changes of control and / or ownership.

Simon Jordan speaking to Talksport:

“The blockage has obviously been one of, initially, moral outrage and then the second one is the challenge around piracy and how the Saudi Arabian regime appears – according to the World Trade Organisation and a variety of other sources – appears to be funding a piracy model which is hijacking content and delivering it in a fashion, which is out of keeping with the Premier League itself.

“Because the Premier League obviously sells its rights to a company called beIN (Sports) and this broadcast is being nicked by a company called BeoutQ.

“I just feel that the Premier League will use it as leverage to maybe to try and get some reining in of that but I just feel I would be very, very, very, very surprised if they block this and are able to block it.

“Because you know, there are other people that own football clubs that one could question the veracity, or the efficacy, of their ownership and I think this is going to be a very difficult situation.

“Because if the Premier League blocks this move, it is pretty much saying, to some extent, that clubs only to their approval, owners of their approval, irrespective of the conditionality of that, and then you move the bar and you move the bar down.

Then you will have this argument of course, raging in Newcastle more than anywhere else, that this only retains status quo for them, those that it suits.

“I’d be very surprised if it is blocked.”

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