A number of Premier League clubs achieved a huge victory in the vote against ‘a temporary ban on associated-party transactions’.
A majority of 14 could not be secured, as was reported on X by Ben Jacobs, thus allowing ‘clubs with same owners’ to trade in the January transfer window.
It’s a controversial reality that has centred, in part, around Ruben Neves’ future amid links between Newcastle United and PIF-owned Al-Hilal.
Another stain on the Premier League’s integrity
Whilst the blame can’t be solely laid at the feet of the English top-flight, the league is under mounting pressure to lay down the law when it comes to clubs and their controversial relationships.
Nothing else illustrates that reality more than the Premier League’s decision to come down hard on Everton Football Club – with a level of heavy-handedness Liverpool mayor Steve Rotherham labelled ‘disproportionate’ – over a breach of FFP rules.
Whilst allowing clubs to vote on such a measure maintains a certain illusion of democracy, it’s difficult to marry the reality of sides leaning on their relations abroad to resolve their current difficulties with the so-called pursuit of fairness in enforcing the rules by sledgehammer when it comes to our city rivals.
To be completely fair to Newcastle, they’ve yet to do what may be perceived in some quarters as “wrong”.
The Athletic have reported that Neves is not currently expected to leave Al-Hilal in the coming window, but boy oh boy will there be raised brows aplenty should matters change.
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