Skip to main content

Newcastle fans rejoice at takeover talk but Saudi investment raises questions London (AFP) – Newcastle United fans have long dreamed of ridding the club of owner Mike Ashley, but a potential £300 million takeover backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund presents fans on Tyneside with a different dilemma. Retail tycoon Ashley has been deeply unpopular in his 14 years in charge of Newcastle, during which time the club have twice been relegated from the Premier League before bouncing back into English football’s lucrative top flight. The Magpies are again floundering near the bottom of the table, without a win in their opening seven league games of the season. But an influx of Saudi cash could herald a new era for one of England’s most passionately supported clubs, who can boast attendances often above 50,000 despite decades of failure. According to reports, 80 percent of the deal would be funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with British financier Amanda Staveley’s firm providing 10 percent and the other 10 percent coming from British billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben. Fans are keen for the $408-million deal — which collapsed at its first attempt last year — to go through but Amnesty International has warned it represents “sportswashing” of the Gulf kingdom’s human rights record. – Ashley blame – The Toon Army has long blamed Ashley for not investing enough to improve the team. “There was a famous banner a couple of years ago that read: ‘We don’t demand a team that wins, we demand a club that tries.’ For the last 13 years we haven’t had a club that has tried,” a spokesman for the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) previously told AFP. “Under this ownership there has been no ambition, effectively no investment and no hope for a sporting entity that hasn’t been a sporting entity. It’s been there to survive and nothing more.” The actions of Ashley have also done little to win over supporters. He briefly handed his company, Sports Direct, naming rights to the club’s St James’ Park stadium in 2011, while there have been several disputes over ticket prices and refunds for matches played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. The prospect of deep-pocketed owners at a time when many other clubs will be cutting back due to the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 is an alluring one for the fans. A recent NUST poll found 94 percent of supporters were in favour of the takeover. Manchester City’s run of 13 major trophies since an Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008 transformed their fortunes is an example of the difference that wealthy Middle Eastern owners can make. Prior to 2011, City had not won a major honour since 1976. Newcastle’s barren run stretches back to 1969. The controversial Newcastle takeover bid hit the rocks last year after an outcry from Qatar-based beIN Sports, a major television rights holder of the Premier League, which was banned by Saudi Arabia in 2017. Tensions between the states have eased significantly and Saudi’s ban on beIN is set to be lifted, with Riyadh also seeking to settle Qatar’s $1 billion arbitration claim over pirate broadcasts to Saudi audiences by the BeoutQ network. But there are already searching questions again being asked about the proposed deal, with Amnesty urging the Premier League to consider Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. The country faced international condemnation following the brutal murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate three years ago. In February, US intelligence released a report that accused Prince Mohammed bin Salman of approving the murder. The Saudis strongly rejected that assessment. “Ever since this deal was first talked about we said it represented a clear attempt by the Saudi authorities to sportswash their appalling human rights record with the glamour of top-flight football,” Amnesty UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said in a statement. “Saudi ownership of St James’ Park was always as much about image management for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his government, as it was about football.”


London (AFP) – Newcastle United fans have long dreamed of ridding the club of owner Mike Ashley, but a potential £300 million takeover backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund presents fans on Tyneside with a different dilemma.

Retail tycoon Ashley has been deeply unpopular in his 14 years in charge of Newcastle, during which time the club have twice been relegated from the Premier League before bouncing back into English football’s lucrative top flight.

The Magpies are again floundering near the bottom of the table, without a win in their opening seven league games of the season.

But an influx of Saudi cash could herald a new era for one of England’s most passionately supported clubs, who can boast attendances often above 50,000 despite decades of failure.

According to reports, 80 percent of the deal would be funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with British financier Amanda Staveley’s firm providing 10 percent and the other 10 percent coming from British billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben.

Fans are keen for the $408-million deal — which collapsed at its first attempt last year — to go through but Amnesty International has warned it represents “sportswashing” of the Gulf kingdom’s human rights record.

– Ashley blame –

The Toon Army has long blamed Ashley for not investing enough to improve the team.

“There was a famous banner a couple of years ago that read: ‘We don’t demand a team that wins, we demand a club that tries.’ For the last 13 years we haven’t had a club that has tried,” a spokesman for the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) previously told AFP.

“Under this ownership there has been no ambition, effectively no investment and no hope for a sporting entity that hasn’t been a sporting entity. It’s been there to survive and nothing more.”

The actions of Ashley have also done little to win over supporters.

He briefly handed his company, Sports Direct, naming rights to the club’s St James’ Park stadium in 2011, while there have been several disputes over ticket prices and refunds for matches played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The prospect of deep-pocketed owners at a time when many other clubs will be cutting back due to the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 is an alluring one for the fans.

A recent NUST poll found 94 percent of supporters were in favour of the takeover.

Manchester City’s run of 13 major trophies since an Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008 transformed their fortunes is an example of the difference that wealthy Middle Eastern owners can make.

Prior to 2011, City had not won a major honour since 1976. Newcastle’s barren run stretches back to 1969.

The controversial Newcastle takeover bid hit the rocks last year after an outcry from Qatar-based beIN Sports, a major television rights holder of the Premier League, which was banned by Saudi Arabia in 2017.

Tensions between the states have eased significantly and Saudi’s ban on beIN is set to be lifted, with Riyadh also seeking to settle Qatar’s $1 billion arbitration claim over pirate broadcasts to Saudi audiences by the BeoutQ network.

But there are already searching questions again being asked about the proposed deal, with Amnesty urging the Premier League to consider Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

The country faced international condemnation following the brutal murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate three years ago.

In February, US intelligence released a report that accused Prince Mohammed bin Salman of approving the murder. The Saudis strongly rejected that assessment.

“Ever since this deal was first talked about we said it represented a clear attempt by the Saudi authorities to sportswash their appalling human rights record with the glamour of top-flight football,” Amnesty UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said in a statement.

“Saudi ownership of St James’ Park was always as much about image management for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his government, as it was about football.”



from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3oEXYIu
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Xavi under no illusions ahead of fairytale on Barcelona return Barcelona (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez said he is prepared for the “biggest challenge of his career” before leaving Qatar for Spain on Saturday, as Barcelona’s legendary former midfielder returns home to take over as coach. Xavi’s appointment was confirmed by Barca in the early hours of Saturday morning and the 41-year-old will be presented to fans at Camp Nou on Monday. “I’m very happy as you can imagine, it’s the biggest challenge of my career,” Xavi told Spanish journalists at Doha airport. “I’m going home and I am very happy.” Xavi faces a huge challenge, with Barcelona adrift of La Liga’s top four, struggling to make the knock-out stages of the Champions League and grappling with debts of more than a billion euros. “I have also experienced bad situations,” Xavi said. “It’s not the best moment in the history of the club but I want to explain what my idea is and to work hard, to make a team. Obviously the first thing is to talk to the players to see how they are.” Xavi left Camp Nou to play for Qatari club Al Sadd in 2015, after making 767 appearances for Barcelona, with eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues among his 25 trophies. “It’s time to come home. Welcome, Xavi,” Barca tweeted in the early hours of Saturday morning, as Spain slept.  “It wasn’t goodbye, it was see you later,” it wrote, along with a video montage of the player’s departure in 2015. Barcelona said in a statement they had reached an agreement with Xavi to become first-team coach for the rest of the season and two more seasons, replacing the sacked Ronald Koeman. “It is expected that Xavi Hernandez will arrive in Barcelona this weekend and that on Monday 8, November his presentation as new FC Barcelona first team coach will take place in an event open to the public at Camp Nou,” it said. Nicknamed the “Maquina” (the Machine), Xavi is widely considered one of the club’s greatest players and there is huge excitement about his potential as a coach after his influence on the iconic Barca team managed by Pep Guardiola. His passing style was seen as the embodiment of Guardiola’s “tiki-taka” team that won the treble in 2009. “One of the greatest midfield maestros of all time, he helped redefine the art with his creative mind, pinpoint passing and sublime ability to read the game,” Barca said in their statement, heralding the return of “an absolute legend”. Al Sadd, which Xavi had coached since 2019, hours earlier said they had reached an agreement with Barca and posted photos on social media of the Spaniard saying goodbye to the players and staff. – ‘The dream’ – Barcelona’s attempt to appoint Xavi as Koeman’s successor had been held up on Friday over his Al Sadd release clause, with Xavi and Barca considering splitting the payment to complete the deal. Al Sadd said Barca had agreed to pay the clause in Xavi’s contract, which is reportedly set at around five million euros ($5.8 million), but Barcelona did not give any details of the deal in their statement. Spanish sports daily Marca headlined the club hero’s return and estimated the cost to Barca of sacking recent managers Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien and Koeman at 32 million euros. Xavi had made no secret of his desire to return to Barcelona, which he joined through the club’s La Masia academy at the age of 11. “My main objective, when I can do it, is Barca,” Xavi told Marca last year. “It’s my home, that’s the dream.” Barcelona sat ninth in La Liga on Saturday morning, with concerns growing they might not qualify for next season’s Champions League. The club are also in dire financial straits, having posted debts of 1.35 billion euros. They could not afford to renew Lionel Messi’s contract in the summer, and the Argentine left for Paris Saint-Germain. Xavi will also be charged with improving the team’s style of play, which was a key criticism during the tenure of Koeman, another former Barca player. Xavi’s flight is due to touch down as Barca take on Celta Vigo in La Liga in Juan Barjuan’s last game as caretaker coach before he hands over to the man the fans are pinning their hopes on to turn the club around.

Barcelona (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez said he is prepared for the “biggest challenge of his career” before leaving Qatar for Spain on Saturday, as Barcelona’s legendary former midfielder returns home to take over as coach. Xavi’s appointment was confirmed by Barca in the early hours of Saturday morning and the 41-year-old will be presented to fans at Camp Nou on Monday. “I’m very happy as you can imagine, it’s the biggest challenge of my career,” Xavi told Spanish journalists at Doha airport. “I’m going home and I am very happy.” Xavi faces a huge challenge, with Barcelona adrift of La Liga’s top four, struggling to make the knock-out stages of the Champions League and grappling with debts of more than a billion euros. “I have also experienced bad situations,” Xavi said. “It’s not the best moment in the history of the club but I want to explain what my idea is and to work hard, to make a team. Obviously the first thing is to talk to the players to see how they are.” Xavi left...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bayern down Mainz to go six points clear in the Bundesliga Berlin (AFP) – Defending champions Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to six points on Saturday after coming from behind to seal a 2-1 home win against Mainz. Second-half goals by Kingsley Coman and 18-year-old Jamal Musiala sealed the victory behind closed doors at Munich’s Allianz Arena after Mainz had taken a shock lead. Bayern remain firmly on course to win the German league for the tenth straight season after stretching their lead at the top of the table as second-placed Dortmund were held 1-1 at Bochum. 

Berlin (AFP) – Defending champions Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to six points on Saturday after coming from behind to seal a 2-1 home win against Mainz. Second-half goals by Kingsley Coman and 18-year-old Jamal Musiala sealed the victory behind closed doors at Munich’s Allianz Arena after Mainz had taken a shock lead. Bayern remain firmly on course to win the German league for the tenth straight season after stretching their lead at the top of the table as second-placed Dortmund were held 1-1 at Bochum.  from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3lVLPNa
Post a Comment
Read more

Rangers brush aside title rivals Hearts Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland striker saw his lob tipped over by Allan McGregor. It was Rangers who scored with their first chance of the match after nine minutes when Ryan Kent’s cross reached Fashion Sakala and the Zambian cut the ball back to Morelos, who fired home from six yards out. Sakala shot just wide from close range moments later before Morelos headed wide from James Tavernier’s corner. Rangers’ second goal came in the 13th minute when Aribo ran on to a brilliant long diagonal from Connor Goldson and fired an angled low shot beyond the exposed Craig Gordon. Gary Mackay-Steven saw his angled shot pushed behind by McGregor early in the second half. Rangers had a let-off in the 53rd minute when Calvin Bassey knocked a Ginnelly cross off the underside of his own crossbar. Rangers remained a threat, however, and Scott Arfield and Sakala were both denied by saves from Gordon. Boyce fired over from close range after being set up by Mackay-Steven before Stephen Kingsley cracked a free kick off the bar from 30 yards out. In the 80th minute, Ginnelly was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for squaring up to Borna Barisic.

Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland stri...
Post a Comment
Read more