Amanda Staveley: Newcastle United suitor accuses Premier League over '300m Saudi bid

Amanda Staveley was the financier behind a $300m takeover at Newcastle. She accused the Premier League and the Premier League of not being transparent before legal proceedings that will decide the future ownership.Ms. Staveley wrote an open letter to Tracey Cruch, who is leading the government-commissioned review on football's governance. In it, she claims that the administrator of the top flight of the sport has created "an effective shield against public inspection".Ms. Staveley criticized the use of confidential arbitration to resolve football disputes in her letter. She then added: "One might legitimately ask why that model has been favoured so much by those responsible for regulating it if they have absolutely nothing to hide."This intervention by the financier comes nearly a year after a consortium consisting of her firm, PCP Capital Partners (PIF), and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Funds (PIF), withdrew their offer for Newcastle, amid scrutiny of bidders under the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test.The consortium, which includes Jamie Reuben, a wealthy businessman, has not lost interest in the deal.The club, which is owned and controlled by Mike Ashley, will likely initiate independent arbitration proceedings. These proceedings are expected to be completed as early as this month.The Premier League maintained that it did not reject PCP's offer, but that it had determined that the PIF was controlled by the Kingdom Saudi Arabia. This verdict effectively stopped the takeover.Ms. Staveley's letter addressed to Ms Crouch, former sports minister, includes her most vocal comments about the proposed takeover.She wrote in it: "Fans certainly deserve absolute transparency from regulators across all of their processes - so that they can act responsibly."They perform a function similar to that of a government regulator, but without the same accountability systems.Ms Staveley stated that now was "a chance for Newcastle United bid participants to be seen taking a strong stance, just like the government did so decisively and effectively in the European Super League disaster".She told Ms Crouch that there was a real urgency, as the NUFC arbitration hearing is scheduled to take place in this month."We need to intervene immediately to bring the matter out in the open."It seems likely that this would be enough for those involved to behave more responsibly and signal that the government is ready to take effective action in the country's best interests.Image: Newcastle United's owner Mike Ashley is very disappointed at the Premier League's rejection of a possible takeover by a Saudi Arabian consortiumMs. Staveley pursued Newcastle for over three years and had previously agreed to a takeover agreement with Mr Ashley in 2020.These are the same remarks she made last week at Newcastle United.The club released a statement urging the Premier League to make the arbitration process public. They cited the recent collapse of ESL as an example of the need for greater transparency within the sport.It stated that "Gone are those days when clubs and fans needed to be kept in the dark, behind closed doors and out of the public eye"In January, Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, stated that he believed the Newcastle United ownership dispute would be settled in a "timely fashion".Ministers established Ms Crouch’s review to be completed later in the year after public and political outrage over the ESL project.Six English sides signed up for it - Arsenal Chelsea, Liverpool Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur - and withdrew in a matter of hours. They have since agreed to pay penalties totalling millions of pounds to UEFA, England's Football Association, and the Premier League.The Premier League did not comment on the Newcastle United arbitration process.