Newcastle is up for sale, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is supposed to buy it for 310 million pounds (356 million euros), but the world's most famous non-governmental organization for human rights is against it.
Although it has been announced that the owners and directors of the Premier League clubs will give the green light for the deal, Amnesty International is concerned about it.
The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), which is controlled by Bin Salman, should have 80 percent of the ownership in the club from "St. James' Park".
- The entry of PIF into English football will serve to glamorize the kingdom where human rights are at a terrible level. PIF will use Newcastle as a PR tool - said Felix Jakens from "Amnesty International".
Sources close to the club say that the formalities surrounding the sale should be completed quickly, and that the Saudis will invest significant funds in reinforcements.
In addition to the Bin Salman family, Yorkshire financier Amanda Staveley will also join the club, as will Jamie Ruben, the 32-year-old who is expected to be the new chairman.
Before that, a member of the UK's second richest family will have to resign as a director of Queens Park Rangers.
- Under the regime of the Bin Salman family, Saudi human rights activists have been subjected to brutal attacks and many peaceful activists have been arrested. There was also a massive cover-up of the gruesome killing of Jamal Khashoggi, and the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has a shameful record of indiscriminate attacks on homes and hospitals. Maybe by entering football they want to "wash away" all that - Jakens emphasized.
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