Premier League urged to review details of deal made between Saudi Arabia wealth fund, Newcastle United

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The Premier League was urged Thursday to review a legally binding promise made by the owners of English soccer club Newcastle in 2021 that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund was separate from the country's government.

An American court document filed by lawyers for Saudi-backed LIV Golf in a case against the PGA Tour revealed this week claimed the Public Investment Fund should be regarded as "a foreign state."

The document appeared to contradict a legal assurance accepted by the Premier League when a protracted takeover of Newcastle was completed in October 2021 with PIF having an 80% ownership stake.

At that time, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters told the BBC in an interview the Saudi state would not control Newcastle and, if this was proved untrue, "we can remove the consortium as owners."

PREMIER LEAGUE CLUB NEWCASTLE BOUGHT BY SAUDI SOVEREIGN FUND

Human rights group Amnesty International, which campaigned against the takeover deal, said Thursday it should be looked at again.

"The Premier League will surely need to re-examine the assurances made about the non-involvement of the Saudi authorities in the Newcastle deal," Amnesty economic affairs director Peter Frankental said in a statement.

"It was always stretching credulity to breaking point to imagine that the Saudi state wasn’t directing the buyout," Frankental said, adding the deal had "the ultimate aim of using the club as a component in its wider sportswashing efforts."

Manchester United's Chairman Avie Glazer, right, and Newcastle United's Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, left, shake hands before the English League Cup final soccer match in London on Feb. 26, 2023.