Prem clubs argue Newcastle’s £300million Saudi takeover should be BLOCKED in TV piracy row

PREMIER LEAGUE clubs have raised concerns about whether Newcastle’s prospective Saudi owners should be blocked for breaching rules.

The proposed £300million buyout of Mike Ashley, fronted by financier Amanda Staveley for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been welcomed by Toon fans.

But a number of top-flight clubs have been alerted to regulations that could mean the Saudis fail the league’s ‘owners and directors test’.

The issue is the ‘pirate’ TV station beoutQ which was accused by the league and other sports governing bodies including Fifa and Uefa of “stealing” broadcasts across the Middle East.

Prem games were sold to Qatar-based beIN Sports as part of a three-year deal currently worth £328m.

But fans in the Gulf region were able to watch games through decoder boxes which were linked to the Saudi-owned Arabsat satellite.

Now beIN  have written to all 20 Prem clubs and chief executive Richard Masters to urge them to “fully interrogate” the  takeover.

And fears over the potential loss of millions in anticipated TV income from beIN have led to some club chiefs questioning the deal.

With most top-flight clubs still reeling from the impact of the coronavirus, there are worries beIN will follow through with a threat to cut payments.

Those could be by as much as 50 per cent as a result of the damage to the value of the contracts.

League Rule F1 states “a person shall be disqualified from acting as a director and no club shall be permitted to have any person acting as a director” if they are in breach of regulations.

Those include having “engaged in conduct outside the United Kingdom that would constitute an offence had such conduct taken place in the UK”.

And the first example of such an offence is:  “Dishonestly receiving a  programme broadcast from within the UK with intent to avoid payment.”

It is argued the Saudi government links to beoutQ, and the direct proposed investment in Newcastle by the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, fall foul of the rules.

The Saudi authorities have consistently denied any active involvement in what a US government report described as an “illicit” operation”.

But beIN chief exec Yousef Al-Obaidly told the clubs that his request was “purely based on the Saudi Arabia government’s role in the past  and  continuing theft of the commercial interests of your club, the Premier League, all its broadcast partners and football in general”.

Asked directly about the potential rule breach, a Premier League spokesman declined to answer.

League bosses do recognise the forcefulness of beIN’s argument and have attempted to bring legal action in Saudi Arabia  with NINE total attempts foundering because lawyers declined to act on behalf of rights holders.

 Andrew Haywood of  national firm Penningtons Manches Cooper LLC, a leading sports lawyer, explained: “The Premier League will want to  protect its commercial rights because otherwise it will undermine their market value.

“Of course the impact on beIN in relation to this piracy issue is significant and appears to be  flagrant disregard of their intellectual property and broadcasting rights within the region.

“However, one of the main issues is proving who is behind the infringement.

“Whilst there are reports of beoutQ being connected to Saudi Arabia, is there any legitimate evidence of ownership?”