Newcastle fans hit out at club for 'hypocrisy' after High Court blow

Frustrated Newcastle fans hit out at the club for their ‘hypocrisy’ after chiefs demanded ‘transparency’ from the Premier League over failed £300m Saudi-backed takeover… despite Steve Bruce banning a Sportsmail reporter for exposing training ground row

• Newcastle have banned Sportsmail’s Craig Hope for accurately reporting a story
• The club also hit out at the Premier League over a ‘lack of transparency’ on Friday
• Fans were quick to point out the irony of the club’s statement on social media
• One pointed out Magpies’ ‘hypocrisy’, while another questioned club’s ‘cheek’
• Newcastle were reacting to losing a High Court case relating to their takeover
• They had appealed to remove the chairman of the top-flight’s arbitration panel 

Fed-up Newcastle supporters have questioned the club’s judgement after officials hit out at the Premier League for a lack of ‘transparency’ – despite banning a Sportsmail reporter for writing an accurate story on a training ground row this week.

Football correspondent Craig Hope, who covers the north-east club, exclusively revealed that manager Steve Bruce had been involved in a physical bust-up with winger Matt Ritchie, who called him a ‘coward’.

But despite Bruce confirming that the story was true during his press conference on Friday, Hope is now being stopped from attending Newcastle press conferences and home matches at St James’ Park.

Steve Bruce admitted he had a training ground row with winger Matt Ritchie (right) this week

Wor Flags, a Newcastle fan group, have used banners to protest against Bruce and Mike Ashley

Now angry fans have slammed the club’s decision to ban Sportsmail’s reporter in the wake of a strongly-worded statement released by the club on Friday.

After losing a High Court case against the Premier League relating to their proposed Saudi-backed takeover, the Magpies hit out at the top-flight for what they perceive to be poor communication over the failed £300million deal.

However, frustrated supporters were quick to point out the irony in Newcastle’s statement, given the club’s poor track record of keeping the fanbase informed – and the decision to ban Hope for reporting the truth earlier this week.

Gary Bennett wrote on Twitter: ‘Ah yes Newcastle United, known for its transparency with its fans, having just banned a journalist for publishing a true story and THE SAME DAY complaining the Premier League isn’t transparent enough with its fans.’

Bruce (left) is under pressure to get results but owner Ashley (right) still wants to sell the club

Amanda Staveley put together a consortium in 2020 that was backed by Saudi Arabia’s PIF

Another user, @CT22_NUFC, said: ‘The cheek of a club that communicates as little as #nufc calling out others for lack of transparency.’

Appearing to reference Bruce’s frustration over his bust-up with Ritchie being made public by Sportsmail, Karl Hall wrote: ‘The hypocrisy of a club asking for transparency from the high court and EPL but complaining about its own affairs being out in the open.’

While @_jonathandc simply said: ‘Newcastle United talking about transparency. Cry me a river man.’

Newcastle’s statement was released shortly after Bruce confirmed that Sportmail’s story on his training ground row with Ritchie was accurate.

‘There is no denying that I had a row with Matt Ritchie,’ Bruce said. ‘These things happen every week. Unfortunately, for us at Newcastle, it gets blown up into all sorts of proportion.

‘As far as I’m concerned, Matty apologised. But it then leaks into the media and causes a frenzy which, at this particular time, with a big game coming up, we could do without it. We have to get on with it.

‘It happens up and down the country but it doesn’t get out. Unfortunately, he (Sportsmail’s Craig Hope) has a source in and around the club, which obviously feeds him. That is the most disappointing thing, which we are all looking into to try and find out the culprit. It borders on treason. It’s wholly disgusting.

‘The source has to be someone from within. Unfortunately, it happens too often. That’s the biggest disappointment for us all. We will try our utmost to see who it is.’

Ritchie replaced Emil Krafth in the 72nd minute and Newcastle conceded 60 seconds later

Sportsmail’s Craig Hope exclusively revealed Bruce’s bust-up with Ritchie earlier this week

HOW SPORTSMAIL REVEALED BRUCE’S ROW WITH RITCHIE

On Wednesday night, Sportsmail exclusively revealed that Bruce had been involved in a furious bust-up with Ritchie during training on Tuesday.

CRAIG HOPE: Steve Bruce and Matt Ritchie were involved in a sensational training ground showdown in which the Newcastle boss physically confronted the winger and barged into him after being called a ‘coward’ by the player.

The expletive-laden bust-up — witnessed by stunned team-mates on Tuesday — leaves Bruce’s position under threat, with several players no longer trusting the manager, especially after he publicly blamed them for Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Wolves.

Ritchie was furious when Bruce, during his post-match interview, accused him of not passing on tactical instructions to the team amid the confusion before Wolves’ equalising goal.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY IN FULL 

Meanwhile, Newcastle’s hopes of pushing through their failed takeover suffered a blow on Friday, when it was revealed they had lost a case over the members of the arbitration panel. 

The club had petitioned for the removal of the chairman on grounds of apparent bias, arguing that as he advised the Premier League on introducing the rule which the prospective owners are falling foul of in the director’s test, he should be removed from the process.

The rule states that no owner involved in broadcast piracy can pass the Owners and Directors Test. The legal wrangle between BeIN Sports and Saudi Arabia is key, with the Premier League deciding that the Saudi Public Investment Fund backing the takeover is run by their government.

However, the ruling on Friday dismissed Newcastle’s claim, prompting the club to issue a long statement in response.

In it, they criticised the Premier League over their ‘lack of transparency’ throughout the takeover process and expressed their frustration at the High Court’s decision.

Newcastle United have suffered another blow in their bid to force through the club’s takeover

‘The club is disappointed with the Court’s judgment on this issue’ a section of the statement read. ‘As noted at the end of the Judgment, the Club submitted that the Judge did not address all of the Club’s arguments.

‘The club is committed to the speedy and fair determination of its claim so that the proposed takeover can go ahead as soon as possible. However, it felt it had to make this application given the need for the dispute to be determined by way of a fair process.

‘The Club is considering whether or not to pursue an appeal.’

Taking aim the Premier League, the statement continued: ‘The club also wanted the Judgment to be published, even though it was dissatisfied with the outcome.

‘Meanwhile, the EPL attempted to prevent it from being published at all. The EPL said that if it was published it should be heavily redacted and anonymised so that readers would not be able to identify the dispute.

‘Unfortunately, this is consistent with the EPL’s lack of transparency over the takeover. The Club won on this point. The Judge rejected the EPL’s arguments and said there was a “public interest” in publication of the Judgment.

‘The Club welcomes the fact that at least its supporters, and the wider public interested in the takeover and the dispute, will now be able to have some information about the process.’

The Premier League’s panel is set to adjudicate on the reasons behind the failed takeover of Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium last year.

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