An amendment that would ban state-owned clubs from English football has been submitted to the new Football Governance Bill.
The bill seeks to establish an independent football regulator and is currently in the committee stage in the House of Lords. There, Labour peer Lord Bassam of Brighton has proposed an amendment to the bill which would see Manchester City and Newcastle's current owners forced to sell if the change is accepted.
Lord Bassam's proposal states the legislation would read: "No state-controlled club may be granted an operating licence, and any affected club must satisfy the IFR [independent football regulator] that they have divested themselves of their state-control before applying for an operating licence.
"A state-controlled club is one which is wholly or majority-owned by individual(s), entities, or entities controlled by individual(s) who are deemed by the IFR or the secretary of state to be under the influence of any state actor, including but not limited to: members of any government or their immediate family, a head of state or their immediate family, diplomats, lobbyists, or other state representatives, or their immediate family, and sovereign wealth funds."
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The amendment would apply directly to Manchester City and Newcastle, who are owned by Sheikh Mansour, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) respectively.
According to the Times, the chances of the proposal becoming part of the final bill is 'small' and experts believe the government are unlikely to want to ban state ownership altogether.
"The bill will not address state ownership, it very much makes it clear the government doesn't want to get involved in moral or ethical decisions," football finance expert Kieran Maguire told Sky.
Manchester City and Newcastle could be affected a proposed amendment to the Football Governance Bill
Jon Tonge, a politics professor at the University of Liverpool, added: "State ownership is not going to disappear, it's actually likely to increase. I think Labour would be reluctant to ban it, first of all because the horse has already bolted - if you've allowed it for one, how could you stop others following suit?"
A Qatari group led by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is a member of the country's royal family, attempted to buy Manchester United from the Glazer family last year but ultimately failed as Sir Jim Ratcliffe purchased a minority stake in the club instead.
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