A report in the Mail on Sunday claims that Saudi Arabia is set to try and work out a peace deal with Qatar amid fears that the row over piracy could end their hopes of purchasing Newcastle United.
The piece claims that PIF, which intends to take an 80% stake in Newcastle in this proposed takeover, is set to open up talks with Qatar after BeIN Sports made a complaint that could end the takeover.
The complaint relates to the piracy station BeoutQ, which has apparently stolen £500m worth of TV rights from BeIN.
The consortium looking to buy Newcastle insists it is not behind the station.
Still, it has started seeking help from government officials, and it is hoped that a deal will allow citizens of both countries to access football matches.
Do you believe that Saudi Arabia are doing this?
Yes, they want the takeover done
No, they are going to give up
The piece states that the consortium hopes that these efforts will see them complete the takeover of the Toon.
TIF Thoughts…
The deal for Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium has been agreed with Mike Ashley since April.
However, concerns over piracy have meant that the Premier League has still not reached a final decision.
The World Trade Organisation has found that BeoutQ has direct links to the Saudi government, and a piece in The Athletic claimed that for the Toon’s takeover to go through, Saudi Arabia would have to stop BeoutQ and allow BeIN Sports to be broadcast in their country.
Therefore, if this report is true, this could be a positive step towards the proposed takeover of the Toon.
If successful, such a move may yet be the difference between Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium finally securing the deal for Newcastle or not.