Premier League football pundit Noel Whelan has taken aim at Mike Ashley for his mis-treatment of Newcastle fans as Magpies across the nation await news of ticket refunds.
At this point, all of the other 19 Premier League clubs have put some sort of rebate/refund structure in place for their fans. Despite the BBC requesting comment, pressure from the local MP and fan demands – Newcastle are yet to say anything at all on the matter.
The club is obviously currently still in the midst of a takeover saga that could see United owned by the Saudi Arabian PIF in the near future. Despite that though, Mike Ashley still owns the club at the moment and should be doing what he can to get the fans money back to them.
Noel Whelan says that the fans “deserve” more respect from Ashley and says that this debacle is “symbolic” of how the club has been under the Ashley regime.
“It is symbolic of how the club has been ran under Ashley,” he told Football Insider.
“After everything the fans do at Newcastle, the passion they show week in, week out – this is why they need new ownership.
“Mike Ashley is not giving the fans the credit and respect that they deserve.
“During this epidemic we are talking about people losing their jobs and how they are going to get through week to week and that is just despicable. Football is an expensive hobby.
“For someone who has so much money, to treat people in that manner, people that have put money in his pocket every week – it is scandalous.”
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