THE planned Saudi-led takeover at Newcastle has been hit by the world’s leading authority finding the Gulf state responsible for pirate broadcasts.
But Prem boss Richard Masters has declined to make any direct comment on the deal that would see Mike Ashley’s Toon reign come to an end.
Mohammed Bin Salman is a driving force behind the £300million Newcastle takeover from Mike Ashley
World Trade Organisation chiefs investigated a complaint by Qatari-owned BEin Sport accusing the Saudi state of hijacking their feed in the Middle East.
After a lengthy inquiry, the WTO upheld the allegations, determining Saudi Arabia “acted inconsistently with rules on the protection of intellectual property (IP) by failing to take actions against a pirate commercial-scale broadcaster operating openly in the country”.
And that put extra pressure on Prem chiefs who must rule on whether to allow the £300m Toon deal.
The proposed new owners sent their paperwork to Prem chiefs for its owners and directors test in April.
But a process that normally takes a fortnight has still to be completed in more than two months.
SunSport revealed last week that Prem bosses had sent the saudis a revised list of questions, related to piracy but also issues including the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the country’s embassy in Turkey.
The victory for the Qataris, who are determined to link the piracy complaints with the battle for ownership of Newcastle, deepens the issue facing Prem bosses.
But Masters was reluctant to even hint at the direction of travel.
He said: “We take piracy very seriously. We stand by what we said on the record in the past. “But in relation to anything to do with takeovers, I can’t say anything about the substance or the timing.”
The WTO found that, despite claims to the contrary, the pirate station beoutQ was “operated by individuals or entities under the jurisdiction of Saudi Arabia”.
It also stated the Saudis had actively prevented BEin Sport from taking legal action through the courts in that country.
The Saudis had claimed that they had a right under WTO rules to ignore the normal guidelines where it was deemed “necessary for the protection of its essential security interests”.
They cited the current political and military stand-off between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours, referring to the ongoing Saudi-led blockade of the country.
But while the WTO panel conceded the exception did exist, it ruled applying that stance was “not justified” in this case.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
