A report in The Independent claims that a group of 16 MPs and peers has raised concerns with the government over the threat of sportswashing in the UK.
In a letter addressed to the government, the politicians claim that the Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle United is a distraction from the country’s human rights record.
The letter mentions the murder of Jamal Khashoggi as well as other crimes the Saudi regime is accused of committing.
Therefore, the group wants the government to step in and review this takeover rather than leave it to the Premier League as the government previously said it would.
Do you think this will have any impact?
No
Yes
As well as this, there are also concerns over piracy, with a report from the World Trade Organisation ruling that the Saudi government have direct links to BeoutQ – a piracy station illegally broadcasting football matches.
TIF Thoughts…
This is yet more opposition to a deal that is proving more controversial; however, the government has already said that it would not get involved – so it would be a surprise if it were to go back on that.
However, these concerns raised by MPs can be added to a list that includes BeIN Sports and Amnesty International – as the opposition to the Toon’s takeover mounts further.
The deal for Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium to take over the Toon has been undergoing the Premier League’s required checks since April, but here we are in June, and no decision has been made.
It is unclear when the Premier League will decide on this deal, especially as chief executive Richard Masters recently revealed that there was no timescale for this process.
The Athletic also released a piece showing how complicated some of the issues around this takeover are – so this could go on for a quite a while yet.