![\"Newcastle](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/128824657_gettyimages-1247510551-696x392.jpg\" "\\"Newcastle")
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
The Premier League \u201cneeds to re-examine the assurances\u201d it was given about potential Saudi state control of Newcastle United, says human rights group Amnesty International.<\/p>\n
Newcastle\u2019s takeover by Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was approved after \u201clegally binding assurances\u201d the Saudi government would not have any control over the club.<\/p>\n
However, in a US court case Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has been described as \u201ca sitting minister of the government\u201d with \u201csovereign immunity\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The statements have been made by lawyers representing LIV Golf, owned by the PIF, which also has a controlling stake in Newcastle.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was always stretching credulity to breaking point to imagine that the Saudi state wasn\u2019t directing the buyout of Newcastle with the ultimate aim of using the club as a component in its wider sportswashing efforts,\u201d said Peter Frankental, Amnesty International\u2019s UK economic affairs director.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an unmistakable irony in the sovereign wealth fund declaration emerging in a dispute about another arm of Saudi Arabia\u2019s growing sports empire, but the simple fact is that Saudi sportswashing is affecting numerous sports and governing bodies need to respond to it far more effectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Premier League will surely need to re-examine the assurances made about the non-involvement of the Saudi authorities in the Newcastle deal, not least as there\u2019s still a\u00a0Qatari bid for Manchester United currently on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Premier League has declined to comment.<\/p>\n
READ ALSO<\/strong><\/p>\n A San Francisco court has approved the PGA Tour\u2019s request to include Al-Rumayyan and the PIF as defendants in\u00a0its lawsuit against LIV\u00a0and ordered them to produce documents in the case.<\/p>\n However, the PIF is challenging the order, arguing the fund and its governor Al-Rumayyan \u201care not ordinary third parties subject to basic discovery relevance standards\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe order is an extraordinary infringement on the sovereignty of a foreign state that is far from justified here,\u201d a court document reads.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are a sovereign instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a sitting minister of the Saudi government, and they cannot be compelled to provide testimony and documents in a US proceeding unless their conduct \u2013 not LIV\u2019s or anyone else\u2019s \u2013 is truly the \u2018gravamen\u2019 of the case.\u201d<\/p>\n Why was the PIF\u2019s takeover approved?<\/strong><\/p>\n The PIF initially withdrew from its takeover bid for Newcastle in July 2020 as a result of an \u201cunforeseeably prolonged process\u201d, before the deal was revived.<\/p>\n The takeover was only approved in October 2021 after the Premier League received \u201clegally binding assurances\u201d that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would not have any control over the club.<\/p>\n The dispute had centred over who would have controlling influence of Newcastle, and would therefore be subject to the league\u2019s owners\u2019 and directors\u2019 test.<\/p>\n Premier League chief executive Richard Masters told the BBC in November 2021 that if his organisation found evidence there was state involvement in the running of Newcastle \u201cwe can remove the consortium as owners of the club\u201d.<\/p>\n The PIF has declined to comment while Newcastle have been contacted. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n