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A group of Newcastle fans protested outside No 10 Downing Street on Friday demanding better communication as to why the club's £300million Saudi takeover was rejected by the Premier League.
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund - the the Public Investment Fund (PIF) - made a failed £300million takeover bid for the club last year, but the Premier League failed to approve the bid due to concerns over the links between the fund and the Saudi state.
The Saudis pulled out of the deal in late July 2020 after 17 weeks of waiting and blamed the Premier League for a lack of resolution, which has sparked fury among the Newcastle fanbase ever since.
On Friday, Magpies fans held up banners saying 'What are the Premier League hiding Boris? #transparencyforfans' and 'The Premier League - run by the Big Six' next to images of all of the biggest owners in England's top division. Fans were also chanting 'Newcastle, Newcastle' outside the gates of Boris Johnson's London office.
The second banner was a reference to the fact that five out of England's 'Big Six' have seen foreign ownership approved by the Premier League in recent years, but their bid to have a Saudi-led owner was rejected.
A group of Newcastle fans protested against the Government and the Premier League over a lack of communication as to why the botched £300million takeover was rejected
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would have owned the club had it gone through
The foreign owners highlighted by the Toon fans include Chelsea's Roman Abramovich, Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour, as well as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United's owners from the United States.
Newcastle lost a High Court case against the top-flight relating to potential 'bias'
