sport news Premier League urged to put Newcastle's Saudi takeover under microscope again trends now
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The Premier League has been urged to re-examine assurances given by Newcastle's Saudi owners that the Middle East state would not have control of the club following the filing of a new court document in the United States.
The document filed earlier this week has raised fresh questions about the level of separation between the Saudi state and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), whose governor Yasir Al Rumayyan is also chairman of Newcastle.
A brief filed in a court case involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf describes the PIF as 'a sovereign instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia' and Al Rumayyan as 'a sitting minister of the Saudi government'.
The Premier League approved the PIF-led takeover of Newcastle in October 2021 after receiving 'legally-binding assurances' that the Saudi state would not have control of the club. Now human rights group Amnesty International is calling on the league to ask new questions of Newcastle's owners.
'It was always stretching credulity to breaking point to imagine that the Saudi state wasn't directing the buyout of Newcastle with the ultimate aim of using the club as a component in its wider sportswashing efforts,' Peter Frankental, Amnesty UK's economic affairs director, said.
The Premier League has been urged to re-examine assurances given by Newcastle's Saudi owners that the state would not have control of the club after their takeover in October 2021
Newcastle chairman Yasir Al Rumayyan is a 'sitting minister on the Saudi government', according to a US legal document seen by the PA News agency and dated February 28
The PIF is chaired by the Saudi Prime Minister, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (pictured)
