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Newcastle fan group urges Premier League to review £305m takeover and ‘legally binding assurances’ Saudi state would not control club… as court documents filed in LIV Golf case say that the nation’s PIF is a ‘foreign state’
- Saudi Arabia PIF took over in Newcastle in October 2021 from Mike Ashley
- They told the Premier League that the Saudi state would not control the club
- Court documents describe the club’s president as a government minister
A group of Newcastle fans have added calls for the Premier League to re-examine assurances from the club’s Saudi owners over who has control of the club.
As Sportsmail reported on Thursday, a court document in the United States has raised new questions about the level of separation between the Saudi state and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), whose governor, Yasir Al Rumayyan, is also president of the Saudi Arabian club. Premier League.
A brief filed in a court case involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf describes PIF as “a sovereign instrument of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and Al Rumayyan as an “acting minister of the Saudi government.”
Human rights group Amnesty International urged the Premier League to raise further questions about the club’s £305m takeover, with the governing body approving the PIF-led takeover in October 2021 after receiving ‘legally binding’ assurances ‘ which the Saudi state would not have. command of the club
NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing has now also added their voices to calls for further investigation.
Newcastle chairman Yasir Al Rumayyan is a “saudi government acting minister”, according to a brief filed in a court case involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
The Newcastle takeover took place in October 2021, but only after the Premier League had been assured that the Saudi state would have no control over the club.
“News that NUFC Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan claims in US court filings that he and PIF ‘are not ordinary third parties subject to basic discovery relevance standards’ comes as no surprise to NUFCFAS” , read a statement from the group.
“Since the takeover, we have said that the Premier League should never have allowed the deal to go through as it meant a sovereign state would have control of Newcastle United. Now we have in black and white what we knew all along.
‘The news means that the ‘legal and binding guarantees’ that the PIF gave the Premier League to facilitate the takeover, that the Saudi government would not interfere in the running of the club were not true, as it was admitted in court that Yasir al-Rumayyan is a government minister.
“The news comes after other figures in the Saudi dictatorship are beginning to feel confident enough to be publicly associated with Newcastle United.
‘NUFCFAS urges fan groups and North East political representatives to break their pact of silence and speak up now and pressure the Premier League to review the current ownership of Newcastle United as they are clearly not fit and proper and their guarantees that the Saudi Arabian government would have no role in running the club are now being exposed as false.’
A group of Newcastle fans have urged the Premier League to review the £305m takeover of the club.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters declined to comment on the matter after his appearance on stage at the Financial Times Football Business Summit in London on Thursday.
The document filed Tuesday, which was seen by the PA news agency, said: “The order is an extraordinary infringement of the sovereignty of a foreign state that is far from justified here.
‘The PIF and His Excellency Yasir Othman Al Rumayyan are not ordinary third parties subject to basic discovery relevance standards.
They are a sovereign instrument of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a sitting minister of the Saudi government, and cannot be compelled to provide testimony and documents in a US proceeding ‘of the case.’
The PIF is chaired by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman.
Newcastle also appointed Ms Asmaa Mohammed Rezeeq as a director last week, and she is understood to be a global investment professional with the PIF.
Newcastle was contacted for comment on Sportmail’s report on Thursday, while the Premier League declined to comment.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has previously said his organization can “remove the consortium as owners of the club” if they find evidence of state involvement.
The PIF has also declined to comment. He is understood to have given legal commitments to the Premier League that the fund, and not the Saudi state, is in control of Newcastle.
PIF initially withdrew from its takeover bid for the club in July 2020 as a result of an “unpredictably lengthy process”.
But the deal was resurrected, with the Premier League confirming that it had approved the takeover on 7 October 2021, adding: “The Premier League has now received legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control Newcastle United Football Club.”
The dispute had centered on who would have controlling influence over the club, and should therefore be subject to the test of the league’s owners and directors.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters told the BBC in November 2021 that if his organization found evidence that the state was involved in running the club, “we can remove the consortium as owners of the club.”
Newcastle have enjoyed a positive campaign under their new owners, with the team in contention for Champions League qualification and having reached their first Wembley final since 1999 in the Carabao Cup.