Saudi Arabia's MBS reportedly asked Boris Johnson to intervene in Newcastle sale
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally called on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “correct” the English Premier League’s decision to block a Saudi bid to take over the football club Newcastle United, claim reports.
Exchanges seen by the Daily Mail allegedly show Mohammed bin
Salman warning Johnson that Britain’s relationship with Saudi Arabia would be
damaged if the attempted buyout of Newcastle United failed to go through.
“We expect the English Premier League to reconsider and
correct its wrong conclusion,” read one message sent by the crown prince to
Johnson, according to the British newspaper.
The message then prompted the prime minister to ask his
senior aide Eddie Lister to investigate the issue.
Lister said on Wednesday night that the Saudis “were getting
upset” by the Premier League’s decision.
“We were not lobbying for them to buy it or not to buy it,”
Lister told the Daily Mail.
“We wanted them (Premier League) to be straightforward and
say yes or no, don’t leave (the Saudis) dangling.”
The Daily Mail also reported that documents released this
week by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) revealed
the British government department had written in June 2020 to the Premier
League about Newcastle's "imminent" takeover.
A UK government spokesperson denied that it had any
involvement in talks over the sale of Newcastle United.
"While we welcome overseas investment, this was a
commercial matter for the parties concerned and the government was not involved
at any point in the takeover talks on the sale of Newcastle United," a
spokesperson told the BBC.
A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund
(PIF) withdrew its interest in the club after the Premier League blocked the
move.
The Saudi crown prince chairs the PIF and, of the fund’s
eight other board members, six are Saudi government ministers, and one is a
royal court adviser.
The takeover process
In September, Newcastle confirmed that the Premier League
had rejected the takeover bid and emphasised its disapproval of the process.
“This conclusion has been reached despite the club providing
the Premier League with overwhelming evidence and legal opinions that PIF is
independent and autonomous of the Saudi Arabian government,” a club statement
read on Wednesday evening.
Amanda Staveley, one of the leading members of the
investment group that sought to buy the club, said last July that the takeover
failed partly due to the league demanding that the Saudi state become a
director of the football club.
Johnson also questioned the Premier League's decision and
demanded it release a statement on why the Saudis withdrew its bid and why the
process took so long.
The takeover came under intense scrutiny when the World
Trade Organisation in June 2020 said that prominent Saudi nationals promoted
beoutQ, an illegal pirate network that streamed content from Qatar’s beIN
Sports.
'Sportswashing'
The deal was also criticised from the outset by human rights
advocates, who accused Saudi Arabia of using Newcastle United to “sportswash”
its human rights record.
Among those criticising the proposed Saudi takeover was
Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was
critical of Mohammed bin Salman's rule in Saudi Arabia.
Fans from Newcastle's Arab communities also told Middle East
Eye they welcomed the collapse of the proposed takeover. Despite the criticism,
many Newcastle fans were angered by the Premier League's decision to block the
takeover.
“As fans, we are heartbroken. It sounds dramatic, but we
have suffered for 13 years under (current club owner Mike) Ashley through a
lack of interest and investment in the club,” Newcastle fan Michelle George
told the BBC.
“The fact it played out how it did, and for the length of
time it did and then for the news to break, and we still don’t have the full
picture, it’s left fans devastated,” she said.
A petition calling on the UK government to launch an
independent investigation into the Premier League's takeover process has
received over 110,000 signatures.
More than 6,000 Newcastle United fans also lobbied their
local members of parliament to put pressure on the league. Among them was South
Shields MP Emma Lewell-Buck, who demanded answers and greater transparency.
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