Human rights groups say the Saudi government has acted with impunity since 2018, including through arbitrary arrests of critics of the prince, as well as his potential political rivals. In February this year the Biden administration released a declassified intelligence report which concluded that Prince Mohammed had approved the 2018 murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia has long been jealous of its arch rival Qatar’s involvement in Paris Saint-Germain football club, and the involvement of a United Arab Emirates consortium in Manchester City. Mike Ashley at St James Park in August 2015. I have seen the recent email sent to Newcastle fans from the Independent Football Ombudsman and agree with their conclusion that the Premier League should make a statement on this case.” In August, Johnson, aware of how popular the bid had been with some football fans in north-east England, wrote to members of the Newcastle United Supporters Trust: “I appreciate many Newcastle fans were hoping this takeover bid would go ahead and can understand their sense of disappointment. Johnson and his ministers have shown sympathy for the bid but do not have the direct power to overrule the Premier League. We wanted to be straightforward and say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, don’t leave dangling.”
We were not lobbying for them to buy it or not to buy it. Lister told the Mail: “The Saudis were getting upset. The Daily Mail, which first reported on the lobbying attempt by Prince Mohammed, said the message to Johnson was sent on 27 June and read: “We expect the English Premier League to reconsider and correct its wrong conclusion.” In July the consortium, which described itself as an “autonomous and purely commercial investor”, withdrew from the deal, blaming an “unforeseeably prolonged process”. The message stemmed from an attempt by a consortium led by the sovereign wealth fund, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, to buy Newcastle from its current owner, Mike Ashley.Ī deal was agreed in April last year, which was then scrutinised by the Premier League under its owners’ and directors’ test, because the league had doubts about the independence of the bid team from the Saudi government. Johnson asked Edward Lister, his special envoy for the Gulf, to take up the issue, and Lord Lister reportedly told the prime minister: “I’m on the case.
The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, warned Boris Johnson in a text message that UK-Saudi Arabian relations would be damaged if the British government failed to intervene to “correct” the Premier League’s “wrong” decision not to allow a £300m takeover of Newcastle United last year.
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