Jackie Broon

Seems like it's possibly going to be evidence showing that they knew about the plans for the SL and/or Project Big Picture.

And he's got loads demonstrably and comically wrong.

I think what he is actually saying is 'I've not said anything about KSA money being behind the Super League, killing the NUFC deal, but KSA money was behind Infantino's 2019 CWC plan'. It was just confusingly written. Although, he then goes on to completely contradict himself by saying the SL would have been KSA backed.

Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day.

There's only a hitch because they wanted one and they wanted one partly because the big 6 don't want the competition and partly because of the beIN piracy issue. In the other similar case of being faced with a legal loophole obscuring the real owner of Crystal Palace they've just said 'fair enough', when they could and should by their rules have disqualified the directors for failing to provide that information. Although issues still remain to be fully resolved beIN have clearly mellowed in their stance because we're not getting the negativity from people connected to them that we were before, so if the big 6's influence has been affected by this it could potentially pave the way to the PL saying 'fair enough' and settling our case.

It'll be more than that and IIRC Usmanov has been wanting to take full control for ages but has been resisted by Kroenke.

I'd love to see them go but it's not going to happen. Even if it were to it would be completely unviable for them they would leave this SL before they would leave the PL. If the SL does go ahead with them they will still be in the PL. (Btw, I didn't see the context of the original post because the new forum's quote system, I don't agree that them leaving would kill the PL, but I do think them being in the SL would)

There's not a chance that those six will be kicked out of the PL though. They will have an even more huge financial advantage, there will be nothing really for ever other club to play for and the PL will be devalued overall so incomes will drop even further for every other club.

Masters and Hoffman are probably fully in support of it really. They're probably insisting to the government that they have it all covered knowing full well that their rules won't stand up in court to prevent it, and by the time that plays out it'll be too late.

Or he might know that PIF will go elsewhere without PCP involved, like Inter, if it goes ahead.

I'm not sure that's true, they can outspend anyone else now and neither of the current petrostate owned clubs have won the Champion's League.

Which is entirely of their own making. They could have worked together with the rest of the football pyramid to bring players wages, transfer fees and agents under control, which they have driven the spilling rise of, but that would have reduced their advantage and opened up the door for other clubs to compete more with them.

It's not really, in terms of the PL anyway, the TV money is pretty evenly distributed and that has resulted in well run clubs like Leicester being able to compete with the 'big 6' and meant that the likes of Man United have struggled to consistently finish in the top 4.

Also this seems to be essentially cutting out beIN (and Sky) from top level European football and devaluing their most valuable league broadcasting deals.

Interesting that PSG aren't involved, which indicates that beIN are not in favour of it and do you think Gary Neville would have been allowed to have his rant it Sky were in support? It looks like the main broadcasters are being cut out by the big clubs and they will be as unhappy about it as the associations.

The High Court judgement confirmed that it is the PL's arbitration process, which will be the same process they were offered last year. Although, the scope of it could possibly be different to that offered last year. If the PL really were that confident they would have just disqualified the directors and allowed the club to appeal which would have put the matter to bed one way or the other much sooner.

Yes. The issue isn't being the same nationality, it's both being part of the same royal family with MbS being the de facto ruler in what is an absolute monarchy where his word is law. Anyway, it's only a potential issue if MbS agrees to become a director, which he clearly isn't willing to do.

Did you get that from Burnsie's Twitter post? If so, it's 100% likely to be bullshit and not what the PL rules state.

The timing is interesting together with the other stuff this week, but he was only the chairman, Sheffield United is still owned by a Saudi prince so if that were an issue it still would be.

Clearly. December 2020 Ashley's plane flies over Saudi Arabia at 40,000 feet: NO and NUFC twitter collectively lose their shit. April 2021 Ashley's helicopter actually lands on MbS's yacht: meh.

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/g-maol https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/g-maol#276ba2c5 Seems a bit of a coincidence.

Maybe I've just missed it but I'm surprised there hasn't been more made of the fact that MbS's yacht is currently anchored off Cornwall and Ashley helicopter has been busily flying between Land's End, the Isles of Scilly and somewhere in the sea between them for the past few days.

I think it's more likely that angle is being picked up due to the other lobbying stories running at the moment than anything to do with the PL.

I was going to say Scott Parker but surprised to find he only had 55 spins with us. Felt like more.