Premier League clubs have imposed a temporary ban on sponsorship deals with companies linked with the owners of the club. Concerns were raised that Newcastle’s new owners could sign deals with Saudi state-owned companies. The temporary freeze will be in place for a month while talks are held about a permanent rule change.
Saudi Arabia’s state sovereign wealth fund owns an 80% stake at Newcastle United. The takeover took place during the recent international break. The Saudi Arabian consortium bought the club for 310 million pounds. The takeover makes Newcastle the wealthiest football club in the world as the owners’ are valued at around 260 billion pounds.
Premier League clubs voted on Monday to impose this temporary freeze. This would mean that no Premier League clubs could sign commercial and sponsorship deals with businesses that have links to their club’s owners.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting held on Monday.
18 clubs voted in favor of the freeze. Newcastle United voted against the proposed freezing. Meanwhile, Manchester City abstained from voting.
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The rules of Financial Fair Play of the Premier League allow clubs to register a cumulative loss of 105 million pounds over a three-year period. However, any artificially inflated commercial deals would increase revenues coming into a club and thereby allowing them to get around the rules and spend more than they are allowed.
The temporary freeze will be in place for a month. Meanwhile, talks will be held about a permanent change to the current Financial Fair Play rules in the league.
