Post by Webster on Oct 7, 2021 17:42:37 GMT
(The Guardian) Newcastle United have confirmed the club’s takeover by a Saudi Arabian-led consortium, ending Mike Ashley’s 14-year ownership.
The controversial £300m deal received Premier League approval almost 18 months after it was first proposed. It hands the keys of St James’ Park to owners capable of transforming Newcastle into one of the world’s wealthiest clubs and follows the news that Saudi Arabia has lifted its four‑year ban on sports channel network beIN Sports. This allows Premier League, Uefa and Fifa matches to be broadcast legally again, and the Gulf kingdom has also promised to close pirate websites operating in the country.
Crucial to the takeover’s approval was the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) – the state’s sovereign wealth fund overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – providing assurances to the Premier League that the Saudi state would not be involved in the day-to-day running of Newcastle. That had been a significant stumbling block when the deal hit the rocks in July last year, with the Premier League considering the PIF de facto the Saudi state when it came to passing its owners’ and directors’ test.
That issue has been the subject of a long legal dispute by Ashley, which was expected to be resolved in an arbitration hearing in January but will now be dropped. The Saudi commerce minister and acting media minister, Majid bin Abdullah al-Qasabi, is understood to have played a key role in brokering the deal and Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, will be the non-executive chairman. “The Premier League has now received legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control Newcastle United,” the league said in a statement confirming the takeover. “All parties are pleased to have concluded this process which gives certainty and clarity to Newcastle United Football Club and their fans.”
The league said the legal dispute regarding the takeover was over and that “all parties have agreed the settlement is necessary to end the long uncertainty for fans over the club’s ownership”.
Rumayyan said: “We are extremely proud to become the new owners of Newcastle United, one of the most famous clubs in English football. We thank the Newcastle fans for their tremendously loyal support over the years and we are excited to work together with them.”
News of Ashley’s departure will provoke joy and relief among many fans but the takeover will be met with a strong backlash from human rights groups, most notably Amnesty International, who have long warned that the Saudi regime is trying to “sportswash” its reputation. Amnesty has also cautioned that civil society has also been silenced in Saudi Arabia and “anyone critical of the regime has been exiled, arrested, or threatened”. On Wednesday its UK’s chief executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said the deal represented “a clear attempt by the Saudi authorities to sportswash their appalling human rights record with the glamour of top-flight football”.
-Read more: www.theguardian.com/football/2021/oct/07/newcastle-confirm-300m-saudi-backed-takeover-to-end-mike-ashley-era
The controversial £300m deal received Premier League approval almost 18 months after it was first proposed. It hands the keys of St James’ Park to owners capable of transforming Newcastle into one of the world’s wealthiest clubs and follows the news that Saudi Arabia has lifted its four‑year ban on sports channel network beIN Sports. This allows Premier League, Uefa and Fifa matches to be broadcast legally again, and the Gulf kingdom has also promised to close pirate websites operating in the country.
Crucial to the takeover’s approval was the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) – the state’s sovereign wealth fund overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – providing assurances to the Premier League that the Saudi state would not be involved in the day-to-day running of Newcastle. That had been a significant stumbling block when the deal hit the rocks in July last year, with the Premier League considering the PIF de facto the Saudi state when it came to passing its owners’ and directors’ test.
That issue has been the subject of a long legal dispute by Ashley, which was expected to be resolved in an arbitration hearing in January but will now be dropped. The Saudi commerce minister and acting media minister, Majid bin Abdullah al-Qasabi, is understood to have played a key role in brokering the deal and Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, will be the non-executive chairman. “The Premier League has now received legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control Newcastle United,” the league said in a statement confirming the takeover. “All parties are pleased to have concluded this process which gives certainty and clarity to Newcastle United Football Club and their fans.”
The league said the legal dispute regarding the takeover was over and that “all parties have agreed the settlement is necessary to end the long uncertainty for fans over the club’s ownership”.
Rumayyan said: “We are extremely proud to become the new owners of Newcastle United, one of the most famous clubs in English football. We thank the Newcastle fans for their tremendously loyal support over the years and we are excited to work together with them.”
News of Ashley’s departure will provoke joy and relief among many fans but the takeover will be met with a strong backlash from human rights groups, most notably Amnesty International, who have long warned that the Saudi regime is trying to “sportswash” its reputation. Amnesty has also cautioned that civil society has also been silenced in Saudi Arabia and “anyone critical of the regime has been exiled, arrested, or threatened”. On Wednesday its UK’s chief executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said the deal represented “a clear attempt by the Saudi authorities to sportswash their appalling human rights record with the glamour of top-flight football”.
-Read more: www.theguardian.com/football/2021/oct/07/newcastle-confirm-300m-saudi-backed-takeover-to-end-mike-ashley-era
