Newcastle United 'voted against £365m deal' over takeover move

However, Newcastle United reportedly objected to beIN Sports’ deal for the Middle East North Africa (MENA) following the Qatari broadcaster’s intervention in this summer's takeover process.

BeIN objected to the Saudi Arabia-funded deal on the grounds of TV piracy in a letter to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters. The £300million takeover was never approved by the Premier League, and is now the subject of legal action from Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, who hopes it can be resurrected through the courts.

Bein’s deal for the 2022-25 rights cycle, which was waved through by the Premier League’s 19 other clubs, ends talk of a bid from Saudi Arabia for the MENA territory.

“We are pleased to agree a significant deal with beIN Sports, a longstanding and valued partner,” said Masters in a statement.

“They have an outstanding track record of delivering top-quality Premier League content across all its platforms.

"Our clubs have millions of passionate fans across the Middle East and North Africa and beIN has played an important part in promoting the Premier League and helping engage those fans with our clubs and players.”

Pointedly, beIN Media Group chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi said: “We are delighted to renew our long-established and trusted partnership with the Premier League through to 2025. This deal demonstrates that rights-holders who do the most to protect their intellectual property also do the most to protect the value of their media rights."

Newcastle declined to comment when asked for its position on the beIN Sports deal.

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Newcastle United coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of NUFC coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor