The Athletic’s Matt Slater recently took to Twitter to share a letter that was sent to UK politicians from Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce and senior member of PIF, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi, which Slater claims ‘has not gone down well’ with the Premier League.
This letter begins by addressing the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) panel report concerning the protection of intellectual property rights in Saudi Arabia that was published on 16th June.
As explained by Slater’s tweet, this letter from the Saudi Minister of Commerce claims that the WTO panel gave a ‘complete vindication’ of Saudi Arabia and justified their process for protecting their ‘country and people from terrorism and extremism’.
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This letter went on say that ‘any entity may contact SAIP [Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property] through the means indicated on the SAIP’s public webpage, including directly through its website’.
Slater has revealed that this letter didn’t go down well with the Premier League after it wrote to the US Government to complain about Saudi Arabia’s ‘alleged role in television piracy just weeks before English football’s top division was asked to approve a £300m acquisition of Newcastle United by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund,’ as per Financial Times.
With Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund still waiting for the Premier League to approve their Newcastle United takeover attempt, Slater’s tweet discussing the Premier League’s reaction to this letter from Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce has drawn a reaction from plenty of Toon supporters.
…& here is a letter sent from Saudi’s minister of commerce (senior member of PIF) to UK politicians & sports NGBs claiming complete vindication at the WTO & saying if you had a concern about piracy you only had to email us. This has not gone down well at the PL. pic.twitter.com/9jYR8UVCZk
— Matt Slater (@mjshrimper) June 30, 2020
Some Newcastle fans replied to this post to question how the journalist knows this letter didn’t go down well with the Premier League.
Do you think that this letter has held up the Premier League's approval of this takeover bid?YES
NO
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How do you know it hasn’t went down well when the PL wont comment on anything?
— Dan Hutchinson (@Dj_Hutch_) June 30, 2020
How do you know it hasn’t gone down well? This is a confidential process. Please provide your source at the @premierleague
— Kate Stewart ????? (@KateStewart22) June 30, 2020
How do you know this hasn’t gone down well with the PL Matt? Anything else you can inform us on regarding this?
— Tommy #2HYPE (@Tommy2HYPE) June 30, 2020
One Toon fan replied to Slater’s tweet to share that they believe the Premier League will not approve this takeover bid, while another Newcastle supporter replied to this post to question if this letter has now resulted in the Saudi-backed Toon takeover bid being held up.
So frustrating that they have gone and done this! Smacks of a completely contemptuous attitude towards the whole issue. I firmly believe the PL have enough to fail the PIF on the ODT if they are that way inclined, i still hold out hope they are not!
— David G (@Gedders83) June 30, 2020
Matt, do you think this is what’s now holding the deal up? Seems crazy that PIF are being held responsible for other legal entities actions if so. I get use them as a pawn in the piracy game seen as they are close to the govt, but when will it stop?
— Nikos ?? (@Nikos_NUFC) June 30, 2020
Meanwhile, one Newcastle fan shared that they believe the Saudi government are as frustrated as the club’s supporters are with the length of time that the Premier League is taking to come to a decision on whether or not they will approve this takeover.
They are frustrated as the rest of us for the delay. They are used to getting what they want. That amount of money and power usually makes people sing to their song. But they have to remember that it’s the PL’s product and it’s their job to protect it. Fingers Crossed.
— Adam Wilson (@adswil) June 30, 2020
More than two months ago, Sky Sports reported that the takeover was ‘nearing completion’ after a deposit was paid by the Saudi-backed consortium behind this takeover attempt, however, as per Chronicle Live, they are still waiting for the Premier League’s approval to complete this takeover.
It mightn’t be too surprising that some Toon fans have shared some frustration over the length of time that the Premier League is taking to approve this takeover in response to this post, as Slater’s update may raise further questions over the future of their club.