London (AFP)

Newcastle resumes Sunday in the English Championship in the blur concerning its future: the club is coveted by a Saudi fund but Ryad was singled out by the World Trade Organization in a case of pirating sports images also affecting the Premier League.

The atmosphere, already largely unreal on the grounds of English football, due to the general lock-up linked to the pandemic of Covid-19, is likely to be even heavier in Saint-James Park for the reception of Sheffield United, Sunday ( 3:00 p.m.).

A few weeks ago, however, the Magpies supporters already saw themselves there ...

In mid-April, the sale process seemed to be well underway between the PCP Capital Partners group, associated with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), led by Crown Prince Mohammed ben Salmane who was to own 80% of the club after the buyout, and the owner of the historic North East England club, Mike Ashley.

The prospect of a destiny for Manchester City, which has been teeming with headlines since its takeover by the Emiratis in 2008, has totally captivated black and white supporters.

- Clouds are accumulating -

Mauricio Pochettino on the bench, Kalidou Koulibaly in defense, Philippe Coutinho and Adrien Rabiot in the middle, Edinson Cavani and Gonzalo Higuain in attack ... The names of potential recruits began to flourish in an idle press since the interruption of competitions.

But the clouds only accumulated above the project, when the Premier League began its process of evaluating the suitors, last step before the completion of a buyout estimated at 300 million pounds (333 M EUR ).

The first wave of resistance focused on human rights and the Jamal Khashoggi affair, named after the Saudi journalist murdered at the end of 2018 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, designated by Turkish and American officials as the sponsor of the murder, later said he, as the leader, was responsible for the crime, but denied knowing it before it was committed. clerk.

Amnesty International and especially Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi's fiancée, have thus written to the Premier League to urge them not to give the green light to the transaction.

It was then the Qatari channel BeIN Sports that attacked on sensitive terrain: television rights.

Premier League broadcaster in many countries, BeIN is at war against an illegal system of broadcasting its images via satellite, called BeoutQ, behind which it could see Ryad's hand.

On Tuesday, the World Trade Organization agreed largely, saying in a report that the Saudi authorities had in any case done nothing to prevent and punish this hacking.

- White knight ? -

Difficult under these conditions for the Premier League to open the door to someone who, even indirectly, harms his own interests ...

Very taken by the "Project Restart" to restart the season, the organizer of the English championship had cautiously put the burning file aside, but he will not be able to shirk forever his responsibilities.

Time is running out for Newcastle, whose owner Mike Ashley, very unpopular among supporters and elsewhere - he had tried to defy government directives at the start of the confinement by claiming that his sporting goods stores would remain open as they were stores " essentials "- seems to be totally disinterested in the club.

During the confinement, he also laid off a large part of the club staff, including the director of the training center and the entire recruiting cell, who therefore did not prepare anything for the summer transfer window. .

Little glimmer of hope, Sky Sports spoke on Wednesday of the existence of a "white knight": Henry Mauriss, American television magnate at airports, who would have put 350 M GBP (390 M EUR) on the table.

But with its 14th place only in the standings, Newcastle did not get out of business and its 8 points ahead of the red zone prohibits any delay in the final sprint.

© 2020 AFP