{"id":3554,"date":"2021-10-13T09:20:39","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T09:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/?p=3554"},"modified":"2021-10-13T09:21:23","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T09:21:23","slug":"saudi-arabian-backed-takeover-of-newcastle-united-bitter-blow-for-human-rights-activists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/saudi-arabian-backed-takeover-of-newcastle-united-bitter-blow-for-human-rights-activists\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabian Backed Takeover of Newcastle United Bitter Blow for Human Rights Activists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saudi Arabia\u2019s recent acquisition of the English Premier League club, Newcastle, has left concerned parties with raised eyebrows over the deal. Saudi Arabian funding of an English club is viewed as the tip of the iceberg, which certain officials were working extra hard to hide. Other analysts noted that this deal reveals a lot about \u201cthe state that England is in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund dubbed the \u201cPIF\u201d was gifted with an 80% stake of the Newcastle club, which is the controlling share. This was agreed after a takeover deal worth \u00a3300 million was struck\u00a0<\/span>[Source]<\/span><\/a>. The Saudi-led consortium managed to grab the club from Mike Ashley, the owner, for 14 years. Reports show that it was not easy to reach such an agreement due to \u201cDiplomatic disputes in the Gulf objections based on Saudi Arabia\u2019s human rights record and Premier League ownership concerns have all been issues on the journey to this point.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
By yellow book ltd – St James’s ParkUploaded by Ultra7, CC BY 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=7487521<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is questioned why the Saudis were allowed to take over the club. In June, it was noted that \u201cAmanda Staveley, chief executive of PCP Capital Partners, has set out her vision for Newcastle United since the club came under new management.\u201d After the deal came through, Staveley \u201cpromised Newcastle fans that the club\u2019s new investors are in it for the long haul and have big ambitions for the Magpies\u201d\u00a0<\/span>[Source]<\/span><\/a>. She uttered that \u201cNewcastle United is an extraordinary football club. There is no other football club quite like it. And there are certainly no fans like Newcastle fans. We at PCP Capital Partners feel privileged to become custodians of this great club\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the agreed terms, Saudi PIF holds an 80% stake while Staveley\u2019s company PCP Capital Partners will own the other 10%, with the billionaire British International property developers Reuben Brothers owning the remaining 10%. Various Newcastle supporters were overjoyed by the deal, which they pretty much campaigned for and were persuading the Premier League to accept. Due to the Brexit and the club\u2019s internal struggles, loyal fans believed that their club needed the Saudis\u2019 money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, not everyone seems to appreciate this deal, and intense criticism has been showered over Saudi Arabian takeover. From an observer\u2019s point of view, the Premier League approved the deal after prolonged negotiations as a way to counter the \u201cexhausting, bruising legal challenge brought by Newcastle\u2019s owner, Mike Ashley.\u201d Ashley was contesting the right to sell to the Saudis, but he lost the fight\u00a0<\/span>[Source]<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
By Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kathryn E. Holm – https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/secdef\/26083230857\/, CC BY 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=83636952<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Real concerns aired out are linked to the Saudis\u2019 conduct regarding human rights and how they usually infringe the liberty of people. The Guardian state that \u201cafter the Saudis\u2019 heinous murder of their citizen, the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018, they have been allowed to land, of all targets, on grand, beloved Newcastle United as a vehicle to launder their reputation\u201d. CIA operatives concluded that Khashoggi was killed after crown prince Bin Salman ordered as the journalist had written about Salman\u2019s involvement in the Yemen war. Salman is the chairman of PIF, which indirectly owns Newcastle.<\/span><\/p>\n

The British people also believed that their government raised red flags on the deal, but government officials refused to disclose what they told the Premier League about letting Saudis own an English football club. Being secretive means, the government might be hiding something. Labour MP for Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Central, Chin Onwurah, commented on the issue and said: \u201cThe lack of transparency and accountability by the Premier League and the government is a sign of broken football governance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He added that \u201cThis is the first time we\u2019ve heard it\u2019s an issue of diplomacy. There will be many fans who have concerns about Saudi Arabia\u2019s human rights record – if the government raised concerns, we deserve to know about it\u201d. Reports suggest how the government authorities withheld the information fearing disrupting relations with Saudi Arabia, evidence to show severe acts of misconduct by the Saudis. Officials cited that \u201cThe disclosure of information detailing our relationship with the Saudi government could potentially damage the bilateral relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia. This would reduce the UK government\u2019s ability to protect and promote UK interests through relations with Saudi Arabia which would be in the public interest\u201d\u00a0<\/span>[Source]<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amnesty UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh argued how the Saudis\u2019 landed an English football as a way to distract people from concentrating on their human rights violation acts in their nation. In relation to the Newcastle deal, he said, \u201cThis will be an extremely bitter blow for human rights defenders and others suffering persecution in Saudi Arabia who will be well aware that this takeover is partly about diverting attention from their plight.\u201d He further explained that the Saudis would use this new move as a sport washing mechanism, so it has nothing to do with football\u00a0<\/span>[Source]<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A UK-based campaign group, Fair Game, shared the sentiments and described the takeover as \u201csport washing pure and simple.\u201d The group suggested that the Newcastle owners \u201care not fit and proper.\u201d Fair Game tweeted that \u201cNewcastle United has a long, proud history. Today that history has been hijacked by a country with a serious international image problem. A nation that executes journalists and treats women horrendously\u201d\u00a0<\/span>[Source]<\/span><\/a>. The state of Saudi Arabia has been despised for oppressive laws, especially towards women. In an online article by Human Rights Watch, 10 reasons were outlined why women flee from Saudi Arabia. The strict laws include women seeking permission from men to embark on a journey or get a passport, employment discrimination of educates women, and inequality in divorce\u00a0<\/span>[Source]<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur line is simple, if you have conducted any activity in the last 10 years that would have broken the law in the UK, then you are not fit and proper to be an owner of a football club,\u201d as noted by Fair Game. And from this angle, the Saudis would be found wanting by British law. Deshmukh posited that \u201cOur call on the Premier League remains the same – it urgently needs to strengthen its owners\u2019 and directors\u2019 rules to make them human rights-compliant and prevent those implicated in serious human rights violations from buying their way into English football.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With a long history of violent clashes with journalists and abusive laws towards women, the Saudi Arabians need to resolve many internal issues and maybe copy other global trends of empowering women. And it becomes a betrayal of the British ideologies to have leaders from such a country owning an English football club; that is why human rights activists feel dubbed by the Newcastle deal aided by the Premier League.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saudi Arabia\u2019s recent acquisition of the English Premier League club, Newcastle, has left concerned parties with raised eyebrows over the deal. Saudi Arabian funding of an English club is viewed as the tip of the iceberg, which certain officials were working extra hard to hide. Other analysts noted that this deal reveals a lot about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"medium":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-360x180":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-750x375":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-1140x570":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-120x86":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-350x250":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-750x536":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-1140x815":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-360x504":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-75x75":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-350x350":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-featured-750":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false],"jnews-featured-1140":["https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Newcastle_United_Logo.svg",1,1,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"James B Greer","author_link":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/author\/j-b-gpoliticsphere-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Saudi Arabia\u2019s recent acquisition of the English Premier League club, Newcastle, has left concerned parties with raised eyebrows over the deal. Saudi Arabian funding of an English club is viewed as the tip of the iceberg, which certain officials were working extra hard to hide. Other analysts noted that this deal reveals a lot about…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3554"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3554"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3560,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3554\/revisions\/3560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}