DBasia.news – The takeover of Newcastle United is threatened to fail. One of Premier League broadcasting rights holder, BeIN Sports, didn’t like the decision.
As reported previously, Newcastle is about to swap owner. The consortium led by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, who is willing to spend 300 million pounds to take over the club from Mike Ashley.
But BeIN Sports tried to derail this agreement. They rated the Saudi Arabian government has a bad track record related to broadcasting the Premier League illegally.
BeIN’s Chief Executive, Yousef Al-Obaidly even wrote to the Premier League and all participating clubs. He considered this agreement would threaten the commercial interests of one of the most popular leagues in the world.
BeIN accused the Saudi government of being involved in illegal actions by hijacking Premier League broadcasts in the past. The acquisition of Newcastle by members of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia could certainly set a bad precedent for sponsors.
“The danger of allowing the acquisition of control or material interests in a Premier League club with what the Saudi Arabian government effectively does cannot be ignored. Given the country’s past and illegal actions and their direct impact on the commercial interests of the Premier League, its member clubs, broadcast partners and football ball in general,” Yousef wrote in the letter quoted from The Times.
“As a long-term partner and major investor in the Premier League, we ask you to think carefully about the implications.”
BeIN Sports’s actions are full of political interests. The broadcasting company is from Qatar, which in fact has been in conflict with Saudi Arabia since 2017.
But it’s not just BeIN who refused the acquisition of Newcastle. The British Amnesty International has also warned about the track record of Mohammad bin Salman, who was implicated in many alleged human rights violations.