Wandy

Yeah he's just doing the same as everyone else and looking at MBS' role within PIF and drawing a conclusion. But really, how can our legal team show separation when MBS is so intrinsically linked with the PIF? It look nigh on impossible to me.

He's a complete prick but unfortunately, apart from Mauriss, he's got everything correct so far. And he's very likely to be correct about our chances of winning the arbitration too. We really are up against it.

Ah, we might as well forget about what happened yesterday as Simon Jordan says its still not going to happen... https://talksport.com/football/953778/newcastles-takeover-saudi-arabias-public-investment-fund-simon-jordan/

Or maybe we do have the ammunition for a legal dispute, but we can't do anything or protest about anything to do with the actual ODT itself whilst undertaking it. It's their test and they can do what they want with it, unless we challenge it legally.

Jowell was absolutely pissing himself at that. Wish we could have got a snippet of it as it would have made for a canny meme.

Agree. They surely can't just say "we think MBS will be the person running the show, now prove to us that he wont". They have to be the ones that prove that MBS would be controlling things. The whole thing is so fucked up though that I wont be surprised if the burden is actually on the buyers.

Is it not simply the case that the burden of proof was only on the Saudis to get past the ODT? But when in court the burden of proof switches to the PL? With Beloff on that panel I still think the PL will fancy their chances and won't be backing down....unless the burden of proof falls to them.

With the arbitration...is it a case of the Saudis having to prove to the tribunal panel that the state is separate to PIF? Or is it a case of the PL having to prove to the panel that the state and PIF are one and the same? In other words, who has the burden of proof?

Jowell did well there IMO. Fingers tightly crossed this gets the go ahead now.

They really, really dont want the CAT to go ahead. If this gets put on hold until arb happens I can actually see the arb going our way.

Nice rebuttal from the judge there. Jowell enjoyed that, lol.

Can this run on into tomorrow? It doesn't seem like our team will have much time to present their case?

Lewis stating that if the PL lose the arbitration then the takeover will go ahead. Of course, they would say that though.......

Daniel Jowell is not impressed like.

Lewis is arguing that SJHL and NUFC are one and the same and, to be honest, it sounds convincing. I hope DeMarco has got something good in his locker as he is going to need it.

I don't understand why that is a reason for hope. All that will happen there is the club claim "we have evidence of the PL doing X, Y & Z. The PL then respond with "we refute all of the club's allegations, see you in court". Meanwhile, the national media will barely give the story a paragraph of exposure.

The arbitration is merely about separation. What could be used from the CAT that is relevant to that question? The arbitration does not deal with anything to do with the PL acting anti-competitively.

Even if it goes ahead, the PL will not fold until right at the death. Which could be years away. The Saudis will not wait that long, we just are not that important. They will move on to the Italian league.

I can paste if allowed.

Likewise. I'm hanging around here for a few weeks more in the faintest of hopes that a deal is done before the summer window closes. Not going to happen of course, but may as well hang on for a few weeks more. If the CAT gets the green light I will check the thread updates in page 1 from time to time for any developments. But really, there is nothing to discuss on this topic anymore. The only thing either of the two threads on here will be good for will be Twitter ITK bullshit.

Yes. And for that reason I don't know how any longstanding NUFC fan can continue to follow the game after this.

Below is from The Athletic.... "Could the CAT break the logjam? In theory, yes. In practice, nobody knows because sports disputes very rarely end up in CATs. This partly explains why the judge has given the league two extensions to gather evidence for its request to have the case thrown out because the tribunal does not have the jurisdiction for disputes such as this. We await the judge’s ruling on this matter but if anyone thinks this tribunal is a shortcut to a takeover, they could be in for a further disappointment. As of today, there is only one hearing scheduled in July before a summer break. The next set of dates for case management conferences are in October and the three cases in question started in 2018. There are 105 active cases on the tribunal’s diary list — only one is newer than Newcastle’s. What does this mean for Newcastle on the field in 2021-22? In all likelihood that Ashley will remain owner for the vast majority of the season. At least." 104th in a list of 105 cases. This will take years to resolve and the Saudis simply won't wait that long. It's over.

The article in The Athletic is grim. This is simply never going to happen. Consider me fully back in the pessimistic camp.

If a supposedly "simple" process like arbitration can be continuously kicked down the road so often and for so long, then it's not unreasonable to assume that the CAT could literally be years away.

I now think that in reality they have walked away, and meant it last year when they said it back then. They were prepared to come back if they did not have to submit the evidence that is obviously crucial for this to have any chance of happening. But the reality of it is that they were always going to need to submit that evidence, even for arbitration. The PL have played a blinder here and I think Ashley's legal action now looks like a cost-free punt that he has essentially paid for with Staveley's deposit.