Amnesty Urges Premier League to Review Newcastle's Saudi Deal

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Facts

• On Thursday, Amnesty International urged the English Premier League to re-examine the legally binding promise made by Newcastle United’s Saudi owners, which stated that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was separate from the country’s government.¹
• Saudi Arabia’s PIF took 80% ownership of Newcastle in October 2021 with assurances that the Saudi state wouldn't control the soccer club. At the time, Premier League CEO Richard Masters confirmed this and said that Newcastle’s owners could be removed if the promises were false.²
• A recent US court case concerning the PGA Tour and LIV Golf described Newcastle chairman and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan as a 'sitting minister of the government,' raising concerns over the independence of the club's ownership.¹
• A brief against Saudi-backed LIV Golf called the PIF 'a sovereign instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.'  Saudi PM Mohammed bin Salman chairs the PIF, and six out of the other eight board members are government officials.³
• Amnesty International said it's concerned that the Saudi government is using Newcastle as part of its alleged “sportswashing efforts” and called attention to Qatari's current bid for Manchester United.⁴
• Meanwhile, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe says that he's not concerned with questions about the club’s ownership and is only concerned with on-field developments. Newcastle has improved dramatically under Howe and its new ownership.⁵

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²FOX News, ³Espn.com, ⁴BBC News and ⁵Associated Press.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Spectator (UK). Newcastle chose to sacrifice its morals to pursue on-field success by partnering with the brutal Saudi regime. The club’s recent achievements are undoubtedly tainted, as its owners have executed 157 people since PIF bought Newcastle. To make matters worse, manager Eddie Howe has buried his head in the sand, willingly becoming Saudi's latest 'sportswashing' tool to distract from its growing human rights abuses.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by The asahi shimbun. In today's tumultuous global environment, sports should be used to bridge the gap between divided societies rather than as a tool to polarize each other, but it seems that the West is intent on doing just that. Rather than making accusations of 'sportswashing,' attention should be focused on the positive returns that sports bring to Saudi Arabia's progressing society and its citizens.
• Narrative C, as provided by Nufc the mag. Biased media is trying to destroy Newcastle and diminish its success by lying about Saudi Arabia’s control over the club. The hypocrisy extends to so many levels as these media outlets ignore teams like Manchester United who have taken millions from the Saudi government for years. Corrupt media outlets even ignore their own companies’ close ties to the regime.