Newcastle United takeover questions as Amnesty International raise fresh concern

Premier League urged to re-examine assurances given

The Premier League has been urged to re-examine assurances given by Newcastle’s Saudi owners that the Middle East state would not have control of the club following the filing of a new court document in the United States.

The document filed earlier this week has raised fresh questions about the level of separation between the Saudi state and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), whose governor Yasir Al Rumayyan is also chairman of Newcastle.

A brief filed in a court case involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf describes the PIF as “a sovereign instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and Al Rumayyan as “a sitting minister of the Saudi government”.

The Premier League approved the PIF-led takeover of Newcastle in October 2021 after receiving “legally-binding assurances” that the Saudi state would not have control of the club. Now human rights group Amnesty International is calling on the league to ask new questions of Newcastle’s owners.

“It was always stretching credulity to breaking point to imagine that the Saudi state wasn’t directing the buyout of Newcastle with the ultimate aim of using the club as a component in its wider sportswashing efforts,” Peter Frankental, Amnesty UK’s economic affairs director, said.

“There’s an unmistakable irony in the sovereign wealth fund declaration emerging in a dispute about another arm of Saudi Arabia’s 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.

“The 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’s still a Qatari bid for Manchester United currently on the table.”

The PIF is chaired by the Saudi Prime Minister, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, with eight of the nine PIF board members listed on the fund’s website as being either a minister or a royal advisor. Al Rumayyan is the only exception, but now the court document describes him as a minister too.

Newcastle United confirm new board appointments after surprise Majed Al Sorour update

Majed Al Sorour has stepped down as a director at Newcastle United, according to a new Companies House filing.

The filing states that Sorour, appointed as a director last May, left the board on December 14. Al Sorour was until recently the head of the Saudi Golf Federation.

Further Companies House updates reveal the appointments of Abdulmajid Ahmed Alhagbani and Asmaa Mohammed Rezeeq as directors on February 23.