It has been 12 weeks since the Premier League lawyers started carrying out checks on Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund after their £300 million bid to own Newcastle United was made known.
The Kingdom’s links with broadcast piracy – which has since been confirmed by the World Trade Organization – have prevented them from passing the Owners’ and Directors’ Test.
However, Saudi vowed to crack down on piracy over the weekend and have already brought down some websites, and that made many reckon the Premier League would deliver a verdict on the Magpies takeover this week.
That won’t be happening from the look of things, and The Sun’s Alan Nixon has shared why he thinks the takeover is still yet to go through.
Looks like Premier want Saudis to do a TV deal at their end … all a bit political … get something out of it … nod it through. https://t.co/m8LseI3Qz5
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) June 26, 2020
It’s usually about money https://t.co/4IL0tmjuhX
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) June 26, 2020
It’s called negotiation https://t.co/RzkoFe4We5
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) June 26, 2020
Other side issues have emerged. No point pretending otherwise. So deal with them. Money solves all problems. https://t.co/qbA8ZWUEwm
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) June 26, 2020
Let them sort it out … https://t.co/1FygyTJwjC
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) June 26, 2020
The UK government has indicated several times that they are open to doing business with Saudi and they are clearly not against their plans to own the St. James’ Park outfit.
The takeover has been widely tipped to go through, but when that will happen remains to be seen.
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley can’t wait to leave after already receiving a non-refundable deposit, and the fans will be more than delighted to see his back after an unimpressive 13-year tenure.
While the Premier League wants the deal to go through from the look of things, their broadcast partners Qatar-based beIN Sports remain against it after Saudis’ beoutQ cost them millions of pounds as a result of the unprecedented scale of piracy.
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