New Newcastle United takeover claim
A court document submitted in the USA last week as part of a dispute between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf raised fresh questions over the level of separation between the club’s hierarchy and the Saudi Arabian state.
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Hide AdThe country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns 80% of the club following a £305million takeover in late 2021, was described in the document as “a sovereign instrumentality of Saudi Arabia”.


PIF governor and Newcastle chairman Yasir Al Rumayyan was said to be a “sitting minister in the Saudi government”.
“Legally-binding assurances” were given that there would be no state involvement in the club before the takeover was approved.
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Hide AdAmnesty, which has highlighted the country’s record on human rights, has asked the Premier League to “re-examine” the takeover.
Peter Frankental, the charity’s UK’s economic affairs director, said: “A week on from the Public Investment Fund revelations, there’s been a worrying silence from the Premier League.
“Nearly three years ago, we were warning that the league needed to strengthen its ownership rules to prevent state-linked overseas buyers using English football for sportswashing – yet nothing was done. And now there’s an apparent vacuum at the top of English football on this crucial issue.”
Frankental added: “It’s surely unimaginable that the Premier League won’t re-examine the assurances made about the non-involvement of the Saudi authorities in the Newcastle deal.”
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Hide AdPremier League chief executive Richard Masters said in a BBC interview in November 2021 that if evidence was found of state involvement in the running of the club the consortium could be “removed as owners”.