Terrorism, religion, Iran, gas & oil - Newcastle United are the unsuspecting guests in a geopolitical 'war' amid Saudi takeover

News of the deal has spread far and wide, breaking in the US financial papers before making waves across football pages around the world. And as we all know the headlines have not all been positive.

For every dream-like tale spun by a hopeful agent of a player or manager wanting a move or a payday, the constitution of United fans has been tested at every turn by critics with knives sharpened ready to pop the Magpies - and PIF's - bubble.

But why Newcastle United, and why this takeover?

Here we attempt to add some context to the criticism - explanations and origin - and highlight the fragile political Middle East landscape the Magpies takeover has been thrown into.

Criticism - the three-pronged attack

Publicly reported criticism has formed in a distinct, three-pronged attack - political, ethical and sporting.

Some of the criticism crosses those three boundaries at will.

And, although not an exhaustive list, it has come from SEVEN key sources - UK politicians, TV companies, journalists, Amnesty International, Hatice Cengiz, Richard Keys and BeIN Sports.

The easiest to unpick are complaints that are ethical in nature.

Amnesty International's 'sports washing' claims come from genuine concerns about human rights in the kingdom.

Having spoken in depth with high-ranking figures within the NGO their arguments are legitimate and should be heard. And due to the nature of Amnesty, they come from a non-political standpoint - which is very important when assessing other lines of criticism.

The other ethical line is that of Hatice Cengiz in relation to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In her most recent open letter, Turkish scholar Cengiz said: "It is time for the governments of the west and all responsible national bodies to hold Bin Salman accountable. Their inaction in recent years has given him the belief that he can do whatever he likes without risking repercussions."

It continues: "Here is a chance for the Premier League to make it plain that criminals and tyrants are not welcome in the most respected football competition in the world. And if it does not take this opportunity, its own reputation will be stained for good. Rest assured that those about to take over Newcastle have blood on their hands."

Newcastle fans cannot be blind to her words - importantly, though, the Premier League must in relation to their owners and directors test. That is unless they can make a watertight case to say there are direct links to the killing and PIF through Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

Then there’s the football criticism. Nothing unites like a common enemy.

Football journalists such as the Independent's Miguel Delaney and others have forged the United fanbase in a fiery social media storm. While we may not agree with their views, at least on the face of it we cannot criticise the origins of those views.

Clubs, on the other hand, and their reported want to reject this £300million deal are very much self-serving.

Piracy - a topic discussed in more depth later - and the reported stealing of intellectual property is something that has brought criticism from up to TEN Premier League clubs.

While that is a fair and valid point, what cannot be overlooked is the idea that some of those club's lives could get a whole lot harder with a fighting-fit Newcastle United, with their arms untied from behind their backs, in the Premier League. Said clubs also have NO say in the Premier League tests, as is our understanding.

And that brings us on to the political criticism - and BeIN Sports and the words of Richard Keys fit very much into this category.

A number of UK politicians - led by Conservative MP Giles Watling - have used the takeover as a points scoring episode. Watling wrote to colleagues on the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select committee asking them to take part in an evidence session into Saudi piracy claims.

Last month the SNP’s John Nicolson having called for the government to block the deal on human rights grounds.

There is little appetite from the government to put into doubt the continued investment in the UK from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi is the UK's preferred trade partner in the Middle East and closest military ally in the Gulf.

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has reiterated the government will not step in.

Dowden told Sky News: “The first thing is for the Premier League to conduct a fit-and-proper-person test. They do that for anyone looking to take over clubs in the Premier League. It’s right that we allow the Premier League to conduct that. It is for the Premiership. It is for the Premier League to make that assessment.”

Then there is Richard Keys and Qatari-owned TV channel Al Jazeera. BeIN Sports is a spinoff of Al Jazeera Sports.

Keys has long been a monkey on the back for Newcastle United fans with his bizarre Rafa Benitez rants and Mike Ashley praise - but this time it's political.

Keys, and primate playmate Andy Gray, are on the payroll of the Qatari regime. That same regime-financed TV organisation - Al Jazeera - chose to take a negative, anti-Saudi slant on the recent fans public meeting, chaired by Chi Onwurah, member of parliament for Newcastle central.

It is important to understand the relationship between Qatar and Saudi is about a whole lot more than TV piracy and football club ownership.

Political tensions - the Iran (& Qatar)/Saudi Arabia divide

The Middle East Cold War has been raging since 1979 - and is as alive today as it ever was.

But where does Newcastle United and a takeover fit into this? Well, this is where Qatar, and their entities, become VERY relevant.

News organisation CNN summarise the situation very succinctly.

"On the face of it, for Riyadh and friends to place a fellow member of the Gulf Cooperation Council under siege is odd if their real enemy is Iran," a report from 2017 reads, in relation to the Qatar diplomatic crisis.

"But Saudi anger, shared by the UAE, Jordan and Egypt, is directed at Qatar's mercurial and independent foreign policy, which includes cordial relations with the Islamic republic across the water."

That power referred to is Iran. And this is where the issues stems from.

Iran, supported by Turkey and Qatar, are on one side of the divide, with Saudi Arabia flanked by Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on the other.

The divide is in many ways political and economic but is also deeply routed in religion.

The CNN report continues: "Why should Qatar even want to get on with Iran? In part, it's gas. The two countries share a huge field under the Persian Gulf. Kuwait, which is now trying to mediate in the Arabian bust-up, also shares oil resources with Iran.

"The Saudis and their allies in the Emirates also see Qatar as promiscuous: it has flirted with Israel, embraced the radical Muslim Brotherhood and offers shelter to the radical Palestinian group Hamas, all while using the pan-Arab reach of the al Jazeera news network to convey its perspective."

Using Al Jazeera or BeIN Sports to convey its perspective to a pan-Arab audience? Now that does sound familiar.

Terrorism, and support for it, is another key strand of this Gulf rivalry.

"To the Saudis and the Egyptians - and, ironically even the Israelis - the Muslim Brotherhood is inextricably linked to Hamas and even al Qaeda."

Religion plays a part, too. Iran is largely Shia Muslim, while Saudi Arabia sees itself as the leading Sunni Muslim power.

In this power struggle it is in the interests of Iran and subsequently Qatar for Saudi Arabia to fail with its pursuits. The blocking of the Premier League deal with Newcastle United, according to sources, could prove to be an extremely public and high profile riposte to the on-going dispute, which, as explained next, spilled over in 2017.

Blackout & the rise of piracy - the Qatar diplomatic crisis

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and a host of other African and Middle Eastern countries severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and closed air and sea space to Qatari planes. Saudi also blocked the only land crossing to their neighbour.

The reason? Qatar's alleged support for terrorism.

One of the major victims in the blackout? Qatar's BeIN Media group, which was suspended in many parts of the Gulf. Al Jazeera and BeIN Sports were banned in Saudi Arabia - hence the rise of BeoutQ, which has been a cause for concern throughout the Premier League owners and directors test process.

BeIN Sports holds the exclusive rights to show the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League across the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa).

An offshoot of any takeover progress is likely to be that Saudi-state TV will bid for the rights when the contract is put to tender ahead of the end of BeIN's contract next summer.

One member of the Saudi ruling elite, Nawaf Al-Temyat, who the Gazette understands is being considered for a place on the United board, is a former pundit on BeIN Sports. The former Saudi Arabia international, who has acted as president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, was a casualty of the media blackout and is understandably no longer part of the BeIN punditry team.

What the future may hold for a majority Saudi-owned NUFC?

Speaking to sources familiar with politics in the Middle East this proxy war, played out on social media through Twitter bots (you’ll all have encountered them, whether you know it or not) and fake news sites, twisting of sources and agendas and the like, will not go away when, if expected, the Premier League give the Saudi-financed deal the green light.

According to sources this appears to have been a concerted effort from the Qataris to block the Saudi's first step into the football world.

Due to PSG's prominence on the world footballing scene, their Nike sponsorship and branding with the international reputational pull that comes with that, the Saudis have quite clearly looked at what has been achieved in Paris by their Middle East rivals and want a piece of it. I'm told, though, they will not make the same expensive mistakes of their Qatari rivals - there will be no mega money Neymar type deals. Those type deals have simply not brought the kind of returns expected, and are seen even by the Qatari regime as 'money down the drain'.

If you think the criticism of the deal has been tough to take so far, expect that to be ramped up even more in the weeks, months, even years post-takeover.

United fans are going to have to roll with the punches and grow a thick skin – because this will get even dirtier.