The Athletic’s Matt Slater has appeared on the latest edition of the ‘Football Today’ podcast, where he spent some time discussing the ongoing Saudi-backed takeover bid of Newcastle United.
The Magpies are currently subject of a takeover bid from a consortium that is backed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF). This group paid a deposit for the club more than two months ago, as per Sky Sports, which reported that the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test was the only part of the deal that had not yet been completed.
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Despite Sky Sports claiming that the deal was ‘nearing completion’ back in April, the takeover is still with the Premier League, as per Chronicle Live. Issues over the Saudi government’s supposed involvement in broadcast piracy was reported to have complicated the completion of this deal and now, Slater has provided some details on the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test during his recent appearance on the Football Today podcast, which may explain why the deal has not yet been completed.
Slater said: “The bottom line is, for three years, the Saudi Arabian government has failed to tackle [Saudi-based pirate TV broadcaster] BeoutQ.
“So, within the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test, there are various questions. It’s almost a checkbox exercise – have you done this? Are you banned from being a director? Can you bring your money into the country? Lots of things that 99% of us would pass.
“There is, unfortunately, a question about piracy – are you involved in that? Have you done something abroad that would be considered a crime here? And have you dealt with this in the utmost faith and have you been honest in your dealings with the Premier League?
“The Premier League have been helping BeIN [a broadcaster that has asked the Premier League to block this takeover due to piracy] for the last three years. The Premier League have tried to sue in Saudi Arabia themselves nine times and no Saudi lawyer will take them on. The Premier League have been very, very enthusiastic and good supporters of BeIN throughout this dispute. So this is a massive problem for the Saudi government, who are now trying to buy a Premier League club.”
Is the Premier League's Owners' and Directors' Test a fair test?YES, THAT'S FAIR
NO, THAT'S UNFAIR
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TIF Thoughts…
As per the BBC, the World Trade Organisation recently ruled that Saudi Arabia did help BeoutQ to break international piracy laws and reported that this could complicate the ongoing Saudi-backed Toon takeover attempt. Now that Slater has explained more about the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test, it may be clear why that would be the case.