George Caulkin, speaking on the latest episode of Pod On The Tyne, has been discussing the proposed takeover of Newcastle United and what the latest move by Saudi Arabia means for the Toon.
Caulkin discussed many other Newcastle-related topics but spent a bit of time on the news that Saudi Arabia had blocked BeIN Sports permanently in their country.
This means that, at the moment, there is no legal way for anyone in Saudi Arabia to watch the Premier League.
This situation drew an answer from Caulkin, and this is what he had to say on the potential consequences with regards to the club’s proposed takeover of this latest development:
“The honest answer is I don’t know.
“I went to the people that I speak to and asked the questions, and the one thing that they said was that this isn’t something that they were expecting to happen.
“This isn’t something that PIF were pushing for and asking for to happen.”
It seems as if the buying side in this takeover were surprised by this move though it is unclear what this might mean for their takeover.
Do you think this move by Saudi Arabia is good or bad?
Good, it clears the way for the Saudis to bid for PL rights
Bad, going to annoy the Premier League
TIF Thoughts…
When this news broke, Matt Slater described it as exactly the opposite of what Saudi Arabia had to do to let their takeover pass.
At the same time, a report from the Shields Gazette claimed that the Saudi Telecom Company were preparing to step in to take up the PL rights from beIN.
However, what Caulkin says about this taking the consortium by surprise is backed up by a report in The Guardian, so it remains to be seen what this might mean for the takeover that has now been with the Premier League for 16 weeks.