NEWCASTLE’S £300million takeover was given hope again as Jamie Reuben dropped a huge hint it could be back on.
The Premier League blocked a proposed move to purchase the St James’ Park club from Mike Ashley.
Jamie Reuben, centre, with his uncle Simon, left, and dad David, right, are still hopeful of securing a deal to buy Newcastle UnitedCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Reuben’s billionaire father David, David’s brother Simon, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners were all involved in the consortium.
They withdraw their offer in July – 17 weeks after contracts were exchanged – because of the financial circumstances and the prolonged process with the Premier League.
The Saudi PIF tried to convince the Premier League that those involved in the bid were not linked to the Saudi state.
But while the buyers believed they had answered all of the questions, the Premier League were not satisfied with the responses, leaving the process gridlocked.
Now, though, Reuben Jr implied a deal could still happen.
He tweeted: “Best fans #nufc,” in response to a Shields Gazette article revealing the Premier League was slapped with a legal letter demanding anti-competition disclosure.
That led to plenty of Newcastle fans lauding the 33-year-old financier and promising a ‘special reception’ if ‘Project Zebra’ gets over the line.
The article states Toon supporters Gordon Stein and Keith Patterson, of Newcastle Consortium Supporters Limited, issued a ‘Letter Before Action’ to England’s top flight – with documents claiming UK anti-competition laws were breached.
Mike Ashley hit out at the Premier League in September, accusing chief executive Richard Masters of failing to act ‘appropriately’Credit: PA
The statement reads: “To this end, we have worked with one of the UK’s very top QC’s in Sport and Competition Law in Robert O’Donoghue QC and we believe that only a fans group will see this resolved within an acceptable short period of time.
“Our plan is to seek maximum expedition of our case before a specialist competition law court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).
“The CAT is a specialist judicial body with cross-disciplinary expertise in law, which hears and decides cases involving competition regulatory issues.
“We have asked the EPL and its members to cooperate in expediting this case due to the urgency involved.
“The CAT is willing to deal with urgent cases very quickly, with results in a handful of months.
“We also very much hope that the UK courts will appreciate the urgency of hearing a case very much in the public’s interest where ordinary members of the UK public are taking on the wealth and might of the EPL and its members and others.
“This impacts football fans across our country and the globe, not just Newcastle fans.
“We therefore await the EPL’s response as to how they will either face up to this action if they have nothing to hide, or whether they will seek to delay and obfuscate.”
Ashley hired a QC in September to prove the Premier League were wrong to prevent the Saudi-backed bid.
He accused the league’s chief executive Richard Masters of not acting ‘appropriately’ during the Owners and Directors Test and instead orchestrated the efforts to wreck the deal.
But in a brutal response the league issued a statement completely dismissing any allegations.
And Premier League bosses insisted Newcastle had been deliberately spreading falsehoods about how the deal fell through.
Micky Quinn questions why Newcastle Saudi Arabian bidders were put under such scrutiny compared to other club’s owners
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
