Steve Parish had 'no objection' to the Newcastle United takeover - but the Crystal Palace chairman was 'concerned' by the 'pressure' placed on the government during the saga.
Parish was speaking at the launch of the Union of European Clubs group, which is an independent representative body founded to improve support and advocacy for non-elite professional clubs across the continent. It did not take long for Newcastle to come up in conversation during a panel discussion on the prospect of an independent regulator.
Although Parish felt the government were being 'well-intentioned', the 57-year-old warned 'when you have governments involved, things become politicised'. To illustrate his point, Parish referenced emails disclosed by the Athletic where the Foreign Office considered the possible failure of the Newcastle takeover to be an 'immediate risk' to the UK's relationship with Saudi Arabia back in June, 2020. Sir Edward Lister, who was the chief strategic officer to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, even searched for a 'senior interlocutor to impress the interests' of the government onto the Premier League.
