AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL have sent the Premier League a stark warning over Newcastle’s Saudi takeover – with Richard Keys also slamming the proposed deal.
Current Toon owner Mike Ashley is on the brink of concluding the £300m deal to sell to the Middle East consortium, led by Amanda Staveley.
Amnesty International have warned the Premier League about Newcastle’s Saudi takeover
But Amnesty International has warned the PL “risks becoming a patsy” if it allows the Toon’s takeover to go ahead.
Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been accused of using sport as a distraction.
It’s claimed sporting events and the takeover is being used to force attention away from mass executions, the jailing of women’s rights activists, the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the war in Yemen.
Amnesty UK director Kate Allen has now written a letter to new Premier League boss Richard Masters.
‘COVER UP’
In it, she wrote: “So long as these questions remain unaddressed, the Premier League is putting itself at risk of becoming a patsy of those who want to use the glamour and prestige of Premier League football to cover up actions that are deeply immoral, in breach of international law and at odds with the values of the Premier League and the global footballing community.”
Meanwhile, former Sky Sports presenter Keys – who was forced to resign in 2011 in the midst of a sexism storm – has criticised the potential takeover.
The now beIN Sports presenter has also questioned the morality of the deal.
Keys said: “I wish it wasn’t Newcastle United that the Saudis want to buy.
“We’ve been talking a lot about morality and resetting the button, and when we all come back why there’s a good reason we can all expect football to be better.
“There was a number of different views on this at the weekend.
“Are we to look away and forget everything? Now is there an argument that it is nobody’s business how Saudi Arabia does it’s business domestically?
Richard Keys, right, has also slammed the proposed takeover
“I get and understand that, we should never try and impose western morals and principles on countries elsewhere in the world.
“It is for them to decide how to run their country. I wouldn’t argue with that.
“But if you are the host country who are inviting in, I think you’ve got a right to say these are the rules.”
Mike Ashley agrees knockdown £300m deal with Saudi consortium to finally sell Newcastle
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
