THE £300million deal to buy Newcastle is reportedly edging closer with a potential Premier League announcement this week.
League bosses have been investigating the Saudi Arabian-led takeover for over two months after Mike Ashley agreed to end his 13-year spell in charge.
Mohammad Bin Salman could soon be allowed to buy Newcastle United
A number of issues have dogged the deal with the Public Investment Fund backed by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman criticised for its human rights record.
And in an attempt to address the significant concern over Saudi football TV piracy, the country’s authorities have vowed to tackle the matter.
According to the Mail, those close to the takeover feel that the intervention is designed to help push it over the line.
It is also said that UK Government officials are leaning on the Premier League to help increase its ties with the Arabian nation.
Therefore, the expectation is that the league will give the green light to the deal when their verdict is delivered, potentially in the coming days.
Broadcasters such as beIN Sports and the World Trade Organisation had warned the Premier League that the piracy channel beOutQ has deprived clubs of hundreds of millions of pounds.
The channel is said to have significant links to Saudi interests, something the Royal Family deny.
But the Saudi Authority For Intellectual Property [SAIP] and Football Federation have now vowed to take the matter seriously and punish those involved.
A statement released on the weekend read: “SAIP recently monitored, examined, and analysed 231 websites that violates Intellectual property law to prevent it from being browsed from the Kingdom.
“Those detected sites included a group of violations, which are downloading and watching movies and series, directly broadcasting sites of encrypted sports channels, downloading books in PDF format sites, downloading and listening to music sites and all been done without obtaining a prior license or authorization from the right holder.
“SAIP has also detected websites that are selling subscriptions for encrypted TV channels through softwares or illicit streaming devices (ISDs) to break barriers for the purpose of displaying materials in illegal ways.”
The PIF makes up 80 per cent of the consortium plotting to buy the Magpies, with financier Amanda Staveley and the Reuben Brothers each taking 10 per cent.
Talk of a significant transfer spree once the deal goes through has featured names such as Philippe Coutinho, Dwight McNeil and Xherdan Shaqiri – as well as the possible hiring of Mauricio Pochettino as manager.
Newcastle takeover will get green light with Premier League bosses set to approve £300m Saudi buyout
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
