Football
Sources close to Newcastle
United’s takeover have told talkSPORT their £300million bid WILL NOT be
affected by new allegations over their apparent role in a pirate TV network.
The Saudi Arabia Public
Investment Fund (PIF), led by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, has made a
£300m cash bid to buy the Magpies from Mike Ashley.
There has been plenty of
opposition to the takeover bid, with Amnesty International accusing the Middles
Eastern kingdom of ‘trying to sportswash their abysmal human rights records’,
while the fiancée of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi has urged the Premier
League to block the Saudis’ Toon takeover.
And another hurdle has
emerged this week, with the World Trade Organisation claiming the country is
behind a pirate satellite TV and steaming service offering illegal access to
sporting events – including Premier League matches.
In a report that has
apparently been handed to Premier League officials, the WTO claim to have established
an illegal link between the beoutQ piracy service and the Saudis.
It is claimed these
allegations COULD see PIF fail to pass the Premier League’s owners’ and
directors’ test.
However, the link has been
denied by the country, as well as Newcastle’s prospective Saudi majority
owners.
Many Newcastle fans have
been left questioning just what is going on, with many beginning to fear
another false dawn following news this weekend that Premier League officials
are yet to examine the bid.
But on Wednesday morning Jim
White got in touch with a source linked with the bidding party, asking if this
latest situation with the WTO has affected their bid.
He said: “Their answer was,
‘no, we think not’.”
And he explained how the
Premier League are in the driving seat over whether the takeover will go ahead,
and they will be taking the piracy allegations seriously.
“It doesn’t really matter
how seriously the buyers are taking it, what matters is what the Premier League
think,” he said.
“You said there, Jim, that
you’ve spoken to some people close to the buying side, as have I, and to be
fair to them their message has been consistent for a number of weeks now.
“They don’t anticipate any
problems, they’re very hopeful of the deal going through, they’re certainly
working on the proviso that it will be passed and they’re making their plans
for the football club, which is all very encouraging if you want to believe
this takeover is going to go through.
“But there are also voices
out there of course who are more in opposition to this and do believe that the
issue of piracy in Saudi Arabia is a very real issue.
“And of course it’s an
issue, you’ve only got to look at the fact the Premier League on nine separate
occasions have tried to bring legal action against the Saudi state with regards
to the issue of illegal streaming of
Premier League football on the country, it’s got to be a serious consideration.
“A lot of people out there
are saying journalists are contradicting themselves – they’re saying one minute
it’s fine and the next minute it’s not – but we’re not contradicting each
other.
“What we are doing is
providing two sides of the story. Sources on one side do not think this will be
a problem, but other sources say it will be a problem, and as journalists we’re
merely reporting all the information we can get.
“To give an honest answer, I
don’t know if this takeover will go through. Only the Premier League know what
they’re thinking.”
Credit: talksport.com
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