BeIN Sports calls on EPL to block Newcastle takeover
Updated : 11:44
England's Premier League (EPL) should consider blocking a planned £300m takeover of Newcastle United football club by a Saudi-backed consortium, Qatari broadcast giant beIN said on Wednesday.
Newcastle, owned by Sports Direct chief Mike Ashley, is in talks on selling the famous North East club. However, it has now become embroiled in a spat between beIN, one of the EPL's major overseas broadcast partners, and the Saudis over a pirate network the kingdom refuses to shut down.
Yousef al-Obaidly, chief of Doha-based beIN, wrote to the EPL and major clubs about the deal, calling for a full investigation into the potential acquirers “including all directors, officers and other representatives from the KSA Public Investment Fund (PIF) or other Saudi Arabian entities involved in, or otherwise providing any financing for the acquisition”.
Saudi broadcaster beoutQ has been illegally showing EPL matches despite a £400m three-year deal that awarded the rights to show games in the region to beIN. Requests to force a ban have been rejected by the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia's sovereign PIF wants to buy an 80% stake in the club as part of a consortium including Gulf-based financier Amanda Staveley and reclusive UK businessmen Simon and David Reuben. Ashley put Newcastle on the market in 2017 after taking it over in 2007.
"There appear to be several reasons why such an investigation is being called for by other parties; our request is purely based on Saudi Arabia's past and present theft of your and your member clubs' intellectual property rights," al-Obaidly said.
“The Premier League must decide whether the group of investors backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund meets its owners' and directors' test and is understood to currently be in the process of working through paperwork connected to the deal, which could take two to three weeks.”
The deal also came under fire from campaigners Amnesty International, which said the EPL risked becoming a “patsy” for those who wish to cover up “deeply immoral” actions – a reference to Saudi Arabia's record on human rights.