Newcastle United expressed ‘serious reservations’ about a £5million payout for outgoing Premier League chairman Richard Scudamore, according to the Chronicle.
The regional newspaper report that the Magpies raised their misgivings about the payment at the meeting on Thursday, with the golden handshake then agreed upon.
The Chronicle claim that Newcastle’s reservations relate to their work with causes such as the NUFC Food Bank and the club Foundation, with the Magpies also believing the money could have gone into grassroots instead.
It is said that it is not yet clear whether the club backed the proposal in the end, or whether it actually went to a vote, but it is noted that the hierarchy supported Scudamore during his tenure.
OPINION
This is a surprisingly positive report on Newcastle’s stance on an issue which has taken the domestic football community by storm in the last day or so. The initial reports exposing the payment were met with derision and anger, so much so that many involved with the game assumed such a payment would not go through. As it is, the Premier League are going through with their decision, and it seems they are doing so with the backing of the majority of clubs. It is good to hear that Newcastle expressed their reservations about the payout, and even better to hear that their concerns related to their work with charitable causes. It does however look like their words fell on deaf ears, with other club chairman coming out and publicly backing the decision following the meeting. The continued backlash to this suggests this episode is far from over, but it is not clear what anyone can do to prevent it happening after Thursday’s developments.
