Jonathan Bellamy
Year of call: 1986
Last year, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund walked away from a high-profile purchase of Newcastle United FC (NUFC), citing the "prolonged process"[1] they faced from the Premier League, with concerns revolving around the influence that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would have on running the club. Newcastle sought to challenge this matter via the Premier League's arbitration procedure; however, the case ended up in the High Court after Newcastle discovered evidence that brought the impartiality of the arbitration panel's Chairman into question.
The High Court published its judgment on 5 March 2021. In this article for LawInSport, Jonathan Bellamy examines the decision and asks whether, in light of events, the Premier League should amend its arbitration rules – particularly those relating to the way arbitrators are appointed and challenged – to avoid similar occurrences in the future. Specifically, he looks at: