The Premier League has been urged to review the “legally binding assurances” it was given that Saudi Arabia would not control Newcastle United after the club’s owners argued in an American court that the Public Investment Fund should be considered a “foreign state”.
In a court case in the United States, lawyers working on behalf of PIF have argued that the Tyneside club’s chairman, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, is “a sitting minister of the government” and that “PIF is not an ordinary third party”.
It is part of a case involving LIV Golf, owned by the Saudi PIF, and the PGA Tour, with lawyers attempting to avoid having to hand over PIF’s financial documents or have Al-Rumayyan face questions.
Yet it appears to entirely contradict what the Premier League were told when it signed off on PIF buying Newcastle in October 2021 for £300m, having been given assurances that the Saudi state would have no say on the running of the club.
It is a hugely embarrassing development for the Premier League, which is yet to comment.
In a statement sent to i, protest group Newcastle United Fans Against Sportswashing (NUFCFAS) believes that the Premier League was lied to during the takeover.
“The news that NUFC chair Yasir al-Rumayyan is claiming in papers submitted to a US that he and PIF ‘are not ordinary third parties subject to basic discovery relevance standards’ is no surprise to NUFCFAS,” the group said.
“This means that the ‘legal and binding assurances’ that the PIF gave the Premier league to facilitate the takeover, that the Saudi government would not interfere in the running of the club were not true as it has been admitted in court that Yasir Al-Rumayyan is a government minister.”
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At the time of the takeover, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters insisted that if it emerged that the legally binding assurances had been broken he would retain the power to remove the licence of the club from the owners.
And there are growing calls, including from human rights campaigners Amnesty International, for the Premier League to review the club’s ownership situation.
“NUFCFAS urges fan groups to speak up and put pressure on the Premier League to review the present ownership of Newcastle United as they are clearly not fit and proper owners and their assurances that the Saudi government would have no role in running the club are now being exposed as false,” the group said.
i has approached Newcastle United for comment.
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