A journalist for The Shields Gazette has made a plea to the Premier League that they must act now on the proposed takeover of Newcastle United after a recent report was released by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with regards to Saudi Arabia’s protection of intellectual property rights.
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Although the report itself did not mention the prospective deal between Mike Ashley and Amanda Staveley’s Saudi Arabian-led group, the Middle Eastern Kingdom were ruled guilty to have breached their own international laws with regards to piracy in relation to the satellite television channel beoutQ, which is responsible for streaming and broadcasting games from the Premier League illegally, as Qatar have the right for this in this part of the world.
As a result, the English top flight will have a decision to make as to whether this should affect their judgement of the £300 million deal, especially given the fact that Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) is one of the key members on the buying side as he is head of the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), however, PIF were not mentioned in the report either, which may perhaps come as a welcome relief to some NUFC supporters.
Nevertheless, The Shields Gazette writer Miles Starforth has voiced his own frustration at the apparent lack of urgency from England’s highest division to make a final decision, saying that it is ‘decision time now’ and claiming that the whole saga about the bid has ‘gone on long enough’.
However, with the Project Restart campaign set out by the league arguably at the top of their priority list as of right now, maybe Magpies will have to wait just a little bit longer before they hear of any confirmation from them.
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Geordies, do you think the Premier League need to speak out about the takeover? Comment below!
