A British report confirmed that the deal for the acquisition of the Newcastle United club by the Saudi Investment Fund reached a dead end, due to the accusations leveled against Saudi Arabia in the field of human rights and piracy.
A Saudi-led group is seeking to persuade the Premier League to dispel its concerns about the suspicions raised about the regime in Riyadh.
The British newspaper "Telegraph" reported that although Newcastle owner Mike Ashley accepted the sale of the competing club in the English Premier League to Saudi Arabia for $ 375 million since last April, the many accusations leveled against the Kingdom that reached the British Parliament froze the expected deal To conclude within a few weeks.
The newspaper revealed that the passage of 17 weeks without the completion of the deal prompted Ashley to despair of it, and made him enter since the beginning of this month in talks with American businessman Henry Morris, who announced his desire to buy Newcastle as well, noting the freedom of the English club owner to sell it to another buyer, especially that The Saudi takeover deal included the payment of a deposit that had expired, which brought it to a standstill.
ج Telegraph: The Premier League refused to confirm that the deal reached a dead end, and they contented themselves with "No Comment" on this news! https://t.co/T3pPFbR8IA
- EPLWORLD (@EPLworld) July 27, 2020
The newspaper said that the Saudi side's efforts are desperate to satisfy the English Football Association, which must adopt the transfer of ownership agreement according to its criteria, as Saudi Arabia has not been able to remove the fears and doubts that surround it, which have caused many obstacles in recent weeks.
Several British reports stated that there are several reasons behind the failure of the Saudi Investment Fund to complete the deal, including the accusations leveled against the Kingdom in the field of human rights, the arrest of a large number of activists in this field, and its support of the "BeoutQ" channel pirated to major European leagues. The Qatar beIN sports network owns exclusive rights in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia also recently took a step that further complicated the deal, as it decided to stop broadcasting "BN Sports" channels in the Kingdom, which would deprive its fans of watching the English Premier League matches, which are currently the strongest in the world.