The Premier League may have breached confidentiality law by confirming their legal dispute with Newcastle United with regards to the failed takeover at St. James' Park.
The Shields Gazette have reported that, according to sources, by confirming that the top flight are in a legal dispute with the Tyneside club, that represents an alleged breach of the confidentiality of the Magpies, with both said to be bound by privacy on the matter now that the case is actually running.
The confirmation by England's highest division is also understood to have angered many close to the proposed £300m deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.
The confirmation from the EPL was revealed in an official statement by the Newcastle Consortium Supporters Ltd (NCSL) that in turn was confirmed to The Shields Gazette.
When contacted by the news outlet, the Premier League refused to comment on the matter.
What does this mean for the Newcastle takeover?
Indeed, this means that the legal dispute between the Toon and the English top flight is likely to be taken to a court case if it cannot be settled by the two parties involved.
Ashley may possibly already have top lawyers Nick De Marco QC and Shaheed Fatima QC on standby to represent the chief executive of Sports Direct in court and it feels fair to predict the CEO of England's highest division, Richard Masters, will already have his own army of lawyers at the ready too.
Nonetheless, the Premier League may have dug themselves a hole already if they are found to have breached the confidentiality law.