PREM bosses have been left panicking over how to react to the latest Newcastle ownership row.
SunSport revealed how Toon chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan told a US court he could not be compelled to give evidence because he was “a sitting minister of the Saudi government”.
That appeared to fly in the face of the “legally binding assurances” that the Saudi state – through its Public Investment Fund – would not control Newcastle when the Prem gave the green light to the £300m takeover in October 2021.
A number of clubs are now demanding the Prem investigates further.
They are pointing to chief executive Richard Masters’ vow that the League could “remove the consortium as owners of the club in accordance with the rules” if the undertakings were broken.
But Masters declined to make any response when approached for comment yesterday, with League officials likewise unwilling to answer any questions.
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That appeared to signal concerns and uncertainty over the League’s next steps but is likely to further antagonise the clubs demanding some kind of action.
It came as human rights group Amnesty International said the Prem could not sit on its hands and needed to at least investigate the issue.
Amnesty’s Peter Frankental said: “It was always stretching credulity to breaking point to imagine that the Saudi state wasn't directing the buyout of Newcastle with the ultimate aim of using the club as a component in its wider sportswashing efforts.
“There's an unmistakable irony in the sovereign wealth fund declaration emerging in a dispute about another arm of Saudi Arabia's growing sports empire.
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“The simple fact is that Saudi sportswashing is affecting numerous sports and governing bodies need to respond to it far more effectively.”
Amnesty also brought up the potential Qatari takeover at Manchester United.
Frankental added: “The Premier League will surely need to re-examine the assurances made about the non-involvement of the Saudi authorities in the Newcastle deal, not least as there’s still a Qatari bid for Manchester United currently on the table.”
Meanwhile, despite Al-Rumayyan’s legal claims, Toon director Amanda Staveley insisted there was a clear dividing line between the running of the club and the Saudi state.
Speaking at the FT Business of Football summit in London, she said: “The undertaking was that Saudi Arabia would not control the club.
“That undertaking has been and is being honoured.”
My husband and I are not that wealthy
She added: “We are partners with PIF, who are effectively a pension fund, managing money for future generations.
“PIF are very long-term investors. My husband and I are not that wealthy, Jamie Reuben is extraordinarily wealthy and we are the poor partners.
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“That helps govern a lot of the decisions.”
Quizzed over whether the Saudis might sell up to own a bigger Prem club, she added: “I don’t think so. That’s not my belief. I can’t speak for PIF but I don’t see that.”
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