United Kingdom government will not block Newcastle United’s takeover from a Saudi Arabia-backed consortium.
The government was encouraged by some organisations, including Amnesty International, to block the takeover as it is considered “whitewashing” of the Saudi regime.
But Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden says there is no plan to block the buy-out, despite allegations against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman regarding the death of journalist Jamal Kashoggi in 2018.
Culture Secretary Dowden said: “The fit and proper person test is undertaken by the Premier League. I don’t want to prejudge the process. I would also take slight issue with the characterisation of him personally.”
When asked about the issue he had with the characterisation of Crown Prince, he responded: “First of all it is not him personally buying it. We have good foreign relations with Saudi Arabia and have never been shy of raising all these human rights abuses and we will continue to do so.
“This is a matter for the football league and I don’t intend to vary the approach that it is for the football league to carry out that assessment.
“I am content that they should carry out that test.”
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