According to the Guardian, an update on Newcastle United’s CAT case against the Premier League is imminent, amid the ongoing takeover saga.
Mike Ashley is desperate to sell the club to PCP Capital Partners.
Since the deal collapsed last year, the Toon owner has launched two legal battles against the Premier League.
The first is arbitration, which is set to determine separation between the Public Investment Fund and the Saudi state.
However, that hearing will no longer take place this year.
It was scheduled for this month, but has now been adjourned until early 2022 because of ‘issues with the disclosure of evidence’.
This is a huge blow for Newcastle, as it has put any hope of an immediate takeover on the backburner.
As it stands, Ashley is going nowhere. He will need to invest in this squad and ensure it is good enough for Premier League survival.
But, despite the delay to arbitration, it is not Ashley’s only hope of forcing a sale.
CAT case development reportedly on the horizon after Newcastle takeover setback
Delays, delays, delays. That’s been the theme of this Newcastle United takeover saga.
In May, it was announced that Ashley had launched an anti-competition case against the Premier League.
Since then, the Premier League have been granted two extensions as they look to have the case thrown out. The latest extension was until July 12th.
And the Guardian have claimed that ‘developments are expected imminently’.
Of course, that begs the question: How long is imminent?
Lest we forget, Richard Masters said the Newcastle ownership issue would be resolved in a ‘timely manner’ back in January.
Ashley’s CAT case could still give PCP Capital Partners the chance to complete a takeover.
However, even if developments are imminent, it is not a quick fix.
The Athletic claimed in May that the CAT case could take six to 18 months. They added recently that there are 105 active CAT cases, and that there is only one newer than Newcastle’s…
Nothing is ever simple with Newcastle United. We were beating Leicester 4-0 last season and it wasn’t comfortable. Mike Ashley agreed a deal to sell the club more than a year ago, yet he still remains the owner with no sign of leaving.
Will this soap opera ever end?
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