Newcastle United ‘discriminated against’ by rivals’ vote as Richard Masters truth told

The Premier League’s financial regulations have created an uneven playing field that systematically disadvantages ambitious clubs like Newcastle United while protecting the established elite, according to leading football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

At the heart of this imbalance lies a fundamental inconsistency in how spending rules apply to clubs based on their ownership timelines rather than current financial realities.

For nearly twelve years, Premier League clubs have operated under Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) that cap losses at £105 million over three years. When Aston Villa proposed increasing this threshold to £135 million last summer, the motion failed – with Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan among those opposing the change.

This decision reveals what Maguire describes as a deliberate strategy by traditional ‘Big Six’ clubs to maintain their financial advantage and suppress competition.

“The current regulations aren’t fit for purpose,” Maguire explains. “Clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea benefited enormously from heavy spending a decade ago when rules were more lenient.

Now they’re voting against newer challengers having those same opportunities because they don’t want the competition.”

This systemic bias manifests most clearly in how the rules treat clubs with recent wealthy ownership differently from those whose financial muscle arrived earlier. Newcastle’s Saudi-backed takeover in 2021 immediately triggered alarm among established clubs, with an unnamed executive organizing opposition to related-party transactions just five days after the deal completed.

As revealed during Manchester City’s legal battle with the Premier League, this executive admitted Newcastle’s new ownership “heightened concerns” and prompted immediate action from rival clubs.

While a tribunal later ruled some of these associated party transaction (APT) rules “void and unenforceable,” revised regulations passed in November 2023 continue to create obstacles for clubs like Newcastle, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

These rules effectively freeze the financial hierarchy as it stood when PSR was introduced, protecting clubs that built their squads under more permissive conditions while restricting newcomers from making similar investments.

The Premier League’s exploration of squad cost controls and “top to bottom anchoring” – which would impose universal spending limits regardless of commercial revenue – has drawn criticism from all sides.

Manchester United’s Sir Jim Ratcliffe dismissed anchoring as “absurd,” while Maguire points out these measures still fail to address the core issue: “It’s an inconsistency that the Premier League doesn’t seem to want to address.”

Premier League CEO Richard Masters has acknowledged there’s “no perfect system,” but the current framework clearly favors certain clubs. As Maguire notes, decision-making power rests with club executives in monthly meetings, meaning established clubs can block changes that might threaten their privileged positions.

This governance structure creates inherent conflicts of interest, with those benefiting from the status quo unlikely to vote for reforms that could erode their advantages.

For Newcastle, these constraints have tangible consequences. Despite their owners’ vast resources, they must navigate a financial landscape deliberately designed to prevent them from spending at levels their rivals enjoyed during their own rise to prominence.

The message is clear: the rules aren’t meant to ensure sustainability so much as preserve the existing pecking order.

As the Premier League faces increasing scrutiny over its financial regulations, the fundamental question remains whether it truly wants competitive balance or merely the appearance of it.

For ambitious clubs like Newcastle, breaking through this glass ceiling may require not just financial resources, but a complete overhaul of the league’s governance structure itself.

Until then, the inconsistency Maguire identifies will continue to shape English football’s financial landscape – and determine who gets to compete at the very top.