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Baresi

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Everything posted by Baresi

  1. Struggling to see what the club have done wrong here for people to wade in on them.
  2. I won’t believe anything until Pauline D posts it.
  3. Currently on season 4 of The West Wing. Some of the best tv ever made, imo. Additionally, some of the best casting ever. Amazing.
  4. I have it on good authority that Springsteen and Rod Stewart will be announced shortly.
  5. The sending of blood to her will be bullshit too. Matsson is going to screw the three of them.
  6. The British government considered the possible failure of the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United to be an “immediate risk” to the United Kingdom’s relationship with the Gulf nation, an investigation by The Athletic can reveal. Then-prime minister Boris Johnson’s chief strategic advisor even sought to find a “senior interlocutor to impress the interests” of the government onto the Premier League. Fifty-nine pages of emails between government officials obtained by The Athletic also appear to show the British Foreign Office pushing to help burnish the image of Saudi Arabia, a country accused of a litany of human rights abuses. A British foreign official flagged up a BBC interview granted by legal representatives of the grieving fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in April 2020 when she pleaded with the Premier League to block the Newcastle takeover. The documents say that the Department of International Trade (DIT) intended to distribute a public relations offer, presumably to assist the takeover process. In another revelation, two years before the takeover bid first came to a head in 2020, the British government secured a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia, confirmed in a meeting between then-prime minister Theresa May and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (known as MBS) at No 10 Downing Street. The papers, released by the Foreign Office, claim this included a stated aim from the eventual Newcastle owners, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), “to target direct investments amounting to $30billion (£24bn at today’s conversion rates) over a 10-year period into the UK”. This is significant because it has previously been reported that MBS, the PIF’s chairman, sent private phone messages to Johnson in which he warned there may be economic consequences for Britain if the Premier League resisted the takeover, and this spells out the masses of money potentially on the line for the UK economy. The emails detail the frequent exchanges between government ministers and civil servants working at the prime minister’s office (No 10 Downing Street), the Foreign Office, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and other branches of the government, as well as the office of the British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and provide a three-month snapshot of the importance of this deal to the UK’s economy. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has previously claimed there was “no pressure applied” by the government during the process that culminated in the PIF acquiring 80 per cent of Newcastle United in October 2021, with Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben brothers sharing the remaining 20 per cent equally. The Premier League approved the takeover after receiving what it described as “legally binding assurances” the Saudi state would not control the club, but the contents of these assurances have never been disclosed or explained. The British government has always denied attempting to influence the takeover or having a role in it. On April 21, 2021, opposition MP Chi Onwurah asked how many discussions Johnson had held on the takeover of Newcastle, as well as the number of officials involved. Johnson told parliament: “These are commercial matters for the parties concerned. The government was not involved at any point in the takeover talks on the sale of Newcastle United.” When asked about his statement in the context of what we now know, a spokesperson for Johnson said it would be a question for the government rather than the then-prime minister himself. The government declined to comment on behalf of Johnson. The communications between May 1 and July 30 in 2020, obtained after a freedom of information request 15 months ago and combined with The Athletic’s own sourcing, form a fascinating insight into how invested many powerbrokers at the heart of the British government appeared to be in the Newcastle takeover. Their importance is reflected in The Athletic’s battle for the information to be published, with the Foreign Office first blaming cost for the delays and then investigating whether their release was in the public interest or could damage Britain’s “international relations” with Saudi Arabia. By the time the emails finally dropped, Britain had changed its prime minister twice, from Johnson to Liz Truss to current PM Rishi Sunak. Large swathes of the emails’ contents have been redacted, with the government’s Information Rights Unit saying this is because “the disclosure of information detailing our relationship with the Saudi government could potentially damage the bilateral relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia”. It also stated some details were withheld to protect “commercial interests”. Boris Johnson with Mohammed bin Salman in 2022 (Photo: Getty Images) Our investigation can reveal: A June 2020 email from a Foreign Office official included a draft note that Sir Edward Lister (chief strategic advisor to Johnson) was considering who should be the “senior interlocutor” to impress the interests of the government as the “Premier League finalise its consideration of the takeover”. Lord Gerry Grimstone, then a minister for the DIT, appears to have been chosen as the interlocutor. People familiar with the discussions were left with the strong impression that the government and No 10 (the prime minister’s office) were in favour of the takeover during a flurry of calls that at one stage took place every few days. Grimstone denies seeking to influence the decision. Neil Crompton, the British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, met with PIF officials to discuss the takeover. Foreign Office minister James Cleverly, who is now foreign secretary and a member of the cabinet, had a call with the Saudi ambassador to the UK in which he requested an update on the bid. The Foreign Office prepared a briefing note for Johnson before a scheduled call with MBS as to how the prime minister should respond if Saudi’s crown prince pressed him on the issue. The DIT is described as having made a “PR offer” that was to be shared with the Premier League, presumably to improve the image of Saudi Arabia and assist the takeover, and a Foreign Office official says “there is space to add colour to the real reforms on the ground” in the Gulf state. The Premier League board was also lobbied by clubs within its ranks, as high as at ownership level, who feared the sporting threat Newcastle would present if acquired by PIF. Meanwhile, it remains unclear if Newcastle’s ownership situation may come under fresh scrutiny, as the Premier League refuses to say whether it is investigating after a court case in the United States renewed questions about the separation between the Saudi state and the PIF. Lawyers representing the PIF claimed sovereign immunity in a court case involving LIV Golf — a multi-tournament competition financed by PIF — in the US, saying that the PIF and Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan are “a sovereign instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a sitting minister of the government”. It is hard to see how this doesn’t contradict assurances the Premier League received that the Saudi state does not control The owners of Newcastle may face a further headache as The Athletic can reveal that beIN Sports, the Qatari broadcaster, is considering reopening a multi-billion-pound arbitration case against the Saudi state in London, potentially reigniting the fuse of the piracy battle that posed the biggest threat to the Newcastle takeover originally. Since acquiring Newcastle, the PIF has invested £364million ($453m at current exchange rates) into the club and signed five of the six most expensive players in the club’s history, including Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad, Anthony Gordon from Everton and Bruno Guimaraes from Lyon. Head coach Eddie Howe has allied the spending with innovative coaching, as well as a renewed bond between the players and the fanbase. Those factors make for a powerful blend that first kept Newcastle in the Premier League (they were 19th in the 20-team table when the takeover happened) and is now pushing them towards a top-four finish that would earn a Champions League spot for next season. Perhaps it is unsurprising, then, that owners and executives of clubs at both the top and bottom of the Premier League made pained representations to senior league officials during the takeover process, fearing for their own sides’ fortunes in the event that the Saudi fund, with assets worth $600billion, succeeded in buying Newcastle. These representations were not across the table at all-club shareholder meetings but rather in backroom discussions and phone calls. These protests extended into the day the deal was publicly confirmed. The Premier League declined to comment for this article but insists member clubs had no role or influence on the process. In the background, human rights organisations and media coverage made reference to concerns over human rights abuses, most notably the assassination of journalist Khashoggi, who had criticised MBS in the Washington Post, as well as the state’s treatment of its female citizens and LGBTQ+ people. Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi embassy in the Turkish city of Istanbul in 2018, and according to a US intelligence report, MBS is deemed responsible for approving the operation that killed him. MBS has described these findings as flawed. This, however, was not the reason the Premier League board initially declined to approve the takeover in the summer of 2020. Instead, the regulatory concerns centred on the alleged piracy of beIN Sports by a service called beoutQ. This all mattered in the context of Newcastle because Qatar-based beIN was (and remains) a broadcast partner of the Premier League and the Saudi state was accused of being behind the piracy at the same time the country’s sovereign wealth fund sought to acquire a Premier League club. In mid-2020, the Premier League board wasn’t satisfied the Saudi state would not end up controlling the club if it completed a takeover. Bird & Bird, the lawyers representing the Premier League, put together a panel of experts and three of them concluded there was no separation. The issue, under Premier League regulations, was not that the Saudi state may, in effect, shadow-direct a football club, but rather that being responsible for piracy of the Premier League product would be a disqualifying factor under its owners’ and directors’ test. This all became more troublesome for the Saudis when, in June that year, a World Trade Organisation panel told Saudi Arabia it had breached global rules on intellectual property rights by failing to prosecute the pirate broadcaster. Curiously, the current chair of the Premier League’s legal advisory group, Peter McCormick (whose law firm carried out work on the owners’ and directors’ test), made an initial recommendation to the Premier League board that the deal should be conditionally approved only for the league, then chaired by Gary Hoffman, to decide to take a closer look at the piracy issue. McCormick subsequently replaced Hoffman as interim chair of the Premier League. In the midst of all this, the British government, attempting to rebuild its economy after leaving the European Union and the simultaneous hammer blow of the COVID-19 pandemic, sought to attract fresh investment from around the world. And the PIF, with its billion-dollar chequebook, was a priority partner. An email on June 22, 2020 from Richard Oppenheim, the UK’s deputy ambassador to Saudi Arabia, included a “script” for those who were dialling into an internal government call in the afternoon. This email copied in representatives from No 10 Downing Street, the Cabinet Office and Foreign Office. The script read: “It’s not for HMG (Her Majesty’s Government) to intervene in buying/selling football clubs. But HMG is not neutral about UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia. It is a crucial and valuable relationship with an important partner, regionally and globally. The purchase of Newcastle United by KSA’s (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) sovereign wealth fund would be a valuable boost to the relationship and signal of intent for further Saudi investment in the north east (the region of England where Newcastle is).” The British government’s initial attempts to assist the takeover did not succeed. It is often said the Premier League initially blocked the takeover but this is not technically the case. Instead, the league board and the PIF disagreed over which name would be on the official paperwork for the owners’ and directors’ test. PIF argued it was separate from the Saudi state but the Premier League’s view was that the state itself should be set against the test. As such, the form was not filled out. So the Premier League did not block the takeover as nothing had actually been formally presented for it to block, although there had clearly been prolonged conversations and legal exchanges. Behind the scenes, however, the British state worked overtime to secure a way forward. Take the extraordinary admission, for example, also in June 2020, that the Foreign Office considered the Newcastle bid to be “the immediate risk” to Britain’s relationship with Saudi Arabia. A note from a draft document stresses the importance of Premier League independence when it came to making a decision, while adding that Lister is “considering who we might nominate as a senior interlocutor to impress HMG interests with the Premier League as they finalise their consideration of the Newcastle takeover”. Lister was serving as Johnson’s chief strategic advisor, having previously worked with him in the Foreign Office and during his time as mayor of London. He would later become the prime minister’s official envoy to the Gulf. The apparent interlocutor was Grimstone, previously chairman of banking giant Barclays, who was then serving as an unpaid minister in the office of international trade. Lister told The Athletic: “This has always been a commercial matter for the Premier League, not the government. My only view was that the Premier League should take a clear decision on the merits and demerits of the proposal.” Gerry Grimstone was apparently brought into the process (Photo: Getty Images) The document mentioned above constituted a draft of a letter to be reviewed by Crompton, the British ambassador to Saudi, with the apparent intent of later being shared with No 10 Downing Street. It was proposed that the letter would copy in the private secretaries of the chancellor, home secretary, defence secretary, international trade secretary, the DCMS secretary, the secretary of state for International Development, and the Cabinet’s secretary — the vast range of recipients would appear to underline the extent of government interest in this matter. This is underlined by correspondence on May 13, 2020, when an internal email states that the “FCO (Foreign & Commonwealth Office) is clear that we support further Saudi investment in the UK, including Newcastle United”. It adds: “Our interest comes from the fact that this would represent the most high-profile KSA investment in the UK and possibly impact the broader relationship. There is senior interest, including the British ambassador, the Cabinet Office, FCO ministers. Therefore, Premier League engagement with the Whitehall/FCO is welcomed.” However, the documents show a revised version of the above draft, addressed to Johnson’s private secretary in the July of 2020, after a steer, the emails claim, from then-foreign secretary Dominic Raab to have “less Newcastle United”. The letter, addressed from the Foreign Office private secretary to Johnson’s private secretary, then reads: “I wrote recently on the Newcastle United bid, the most immediate risk. The purchase of Newcastle United by Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would be a valuable boost to the relationship and a gateway for further Saudi investment. [REDACTED] — polls suggest 97 per cent of Newcastle supporters are in favour of the bid.” This clearly indicates the foreign office viewed the takeover as favourable to attracting Saudi cash. Indeed, a diplomatic cable from the British ambassador in Riyadh in June that year claimed that “the PIF bid to acquire Newcastle is at the heart of their plans to invest in the north east”. The Foreign Office note, referring to 97 per cent of supporters, appears to allude to a poll by the Newcastle United Supporters Trust. The Foreign Office did not respond when asked if this poll, of only 3,397 Newcastle fans, had formed the partial basis of government policy formation. Buried on page 28 of the email disclosure is, perhaps, the most significant line of all. A British Foreign Office email details how, in 2018, the UK and Saudi Arabia “committed to a long-term partnership” that would support the delivery of MBS’ Vision 2030 plan, which aims to diversify the Saudi economy to become less reliant on oil and gas. The email’s essential line reads: “PIF aims to target direct investments amounting to $30billion over a 10-year period into the UK.” This deal appears to have been sealed when May (Johnson’s predecessor at No 10) hosted the inaugural meeting of the UK-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council with MBS at Downing Street, where an ambition of £65billion of mutual trade and investment was agreed. This was described as “strong international confidence” in the British economy as it prepared to leave the European Union. The PIF’s aim to invest $30billion in 10 years is a significant revelation because the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper has previously reported how, in the final week of June 2020, Johnson received text messages from MBS, who was unhappy that the Premier League had made clear it viewed the Saudi state as the ultimate bidder for Newcastle. The text from MBS was reported by the Daily Mail to have read: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has opened its doors for the UK’s investments in various sectors and initiated a mutually beneficial investment program with large amounts of funding. The Premier League’s wrong conclusion will unfortunately have a negative impact on both our countries’ economic and commercial relations.” He was also reported to have said: “We expect the Premier League to reconsider and correct its wrong conclusion.” Both the PIF and the Saudi embassy in London were contacted for comment. The same newspaper claimed Johnson then said Lister, his chief strategist, was on the case. A spokesperson for Johnson declined to comment when contacted by The Athletic. The disclosed emails also record that the two premiers held a call in May 2020, when the Foreign Office even prepared a briefing for Johnson on what to say in the event that MBS raised the takeover issue. The Foreign Office advised Johnson to “make clear that the Newcastle decision sits with the Premier League solely” but recommended that he “welcomes continued Saudi investment in the UK, including the Newcastle United bid”. Johnson’s spokesperson declined to comment when asked if he discussed the takeover on the call. The website Politico last year described Johnson and MBS as enjoying a “bromance”. Lister told the site that the pair “just seem to hit it off” and it is also true Johnson enjoyed an all-expenses paid £14,000 trip to Saudi during his time as a backbench MP in September 2018, when he also met up with MBS. Johnson told parliament’s register of interests that the purpose of the visit was “meeting with regional figures to promote education for women and girls”. Johnson was not the only prominent British official with the takeover on his mind. Also in May 2020, Conservative MP Cleverly held a call with the Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom, Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al-Saud. The emails record a readout from Cleverly’s own private secretary from the meeting, detailing how he requested an “update on the bid” for Newcastle and added that “Mr Cleverly welcomed the investment into the UK”. The email continued: “The minister stressed that when he can, he publicly makes the case for our relationship with Saudi Arabia, as he recognises the value of our partnership.” Over in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, British diplomats were also on hand. On June 1, 2020, the British ambassador to Saudi, Neil Crompton, held a meeting with the PIF. Notes from that meeting show it focused heavily on the proposed Newcastle takeover, with emails describing the topic as being among “more serious matters”. The PIF informed the British government at this meeting that Al-Rumayyan would be the chairman of Newcastle upon completion of the proposed takeover, as has eventually proved to be the case. Crompton reiterates the independence of the Premier League but then recommends a follow-up call between the PIF and a British government minister. And who does Crompton recommend to be involved? Grimstone, the DIT minister who appears to have been selected by Johnson’s man Lister as the “chosen interlocutor” to “impress the interests” of the government with the Premier League. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Newcastle United’s chairman, at their St James’ Park stadium last August (Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) According to sources familiar with the discussions, who wish not to be named to protect business relationships, Grimstone held personal calls both with the PIF and the most senior Premier League officials during the takeover process. UK newspaper The Guardian has previously reported he had discussions with then-Premier League chairman Hoffman, with one call lasting 45 minutes. The Athletic has been told Grimstone left Premier League officials with the impression that both the government and No 10 Downing Street wanted the takeover to be approved, with Grimstone contacting the Premier League every few days to discuss the matter at the height of his interest. Grimstone told The Athletic our email to him contained inaccuracies, but he did not detail these inaccuracies when requested. He added: “I don’t agree with the conclusions that you have reached and I strongly refute them. Part of my role as investment minister was to keep abreast of large investments potentially coming into the UK. This was particularly important in investments such as Newcastle, which were in the public domain and were attracting a great deal of public interest. “I made it very clear to all parties that my only role was to facilitate the passing of ideas between the PIF and EPL (English Premier League) and that in no way did I seek to prejudice the EPL’s complete autonomy. “I reiterate that it was not my role to influence the EPL’s decision in any way. Naturally, as I would with any high-profile investment coming into the UK, I was concerned that the parties resolved this between themselves courteously and professionally whatever the outcome of their discussions.” Grimstone’s DIT colleagues appear, from the emails disclosed, to have been trying to assist the Saudi cause. Consider, for example, an email from April 30, 2020, when messages were exchanged between Foreign Office addresses in which it is stated that the DIT had made a “PR offer” in an email chain entitled “Saudi Arabia — Newcastle United”. The government did not answer when asked if the department here made a PR offer to help improve Saudi’s public image in the UK. Further emails show the Foreign Office saying that “there is space to add colour to the real reforms on the ground” in a country that had become notorious for alleged human rights abuses. Most remarkably, an email from a Foreign Office address on April 29, 2020, appears to flag up in a bullet point that the fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi “has also spoken out”, warning “it was on the BBC this morning”. The next bullet point says: “We’ll do some quick work with DIT to ensure their PR offer is being shared [REDACTED], DCMS, and the PL.” The interview in question went out on the BBC on April 28, where lawyers representing Hatice Cengiz, the grieving fiancee of Khashoggi, pleaded with Premier League CEO Masters to block the takeover. “The standing of English football would be tarnished by your connection with those who commit the most appalling crimes and then seek to whitewash them, and who seek to use English football as a way of improving their image and hiding their transgressions,” legal representatives of Cengiz said. These emails may give the impression that the Foreign Office sought to limit the negative publicity surrounding Saudi Arabia and the FCO declined, when asked, to explain what exactly the “PR offer” entailed. The Newcastle takeover did not materialise in the summer of 2020, an argument that has been made both by Grimstone and senior Premier League officials to deny the pressure from the government was overwhelming. Additionally, the Foreign Office emails repeatedly show the government stressing the need to respect the independence of Premier League decision-making, with ambassador Crompton doing so in direct meetings with Saudi officials. Besides the reported text messages from MBS, there is no evidence within the emails of the Saudi state seeking to draw the British state into the negotiations. What does become consistently apparent from the three months of emails obtained, however, is that the British government kept writing about the importance of Premier League independence while constantly appearing to push the boundaries. For example, a May 15, 2020 email between Foreign Office officials says: “From an FCO perspective, I would be cautious on [REDACTED]. Arguably, it would also start to erode our position on the independence of PL decision-making. However, I do see space for ‘soft’ questions during our engagement.” The Foreign Office did not clarify when asked what was meant by soft questions, or counter The Athletic’s suggestion that it appears to be an innuendo for applying pressure. An email 10 days earlier, from a British Foreign Office official based in Saudi, conceded: “I don’t think we should be sharing papers with the PL — this comes with far more risk than a conversation.” The Foreign Office did not answer whether the official considered it to be inappropriate because it may leave a paper trail demonstrating pressure being applied. One source close to the Premier League, speaking to The Athletic anonymously to protect their relationships, recalls how some senior league officials came to feel that while the government kept saying it respected its independence, “they didn’t really mean it”. Even when the Saudi consortium publicly stepped away from the takeover in July 2020, the government’s engagement on the matter did not end. On June 16 in 2020, the World Trade Organisation released a report that admonished the Saudis on the issue of piracy. Five days later, Crompton wrote an email to colleagues in which he appeared to suggest an escalation in the government’s attempts to break the deadlock in the takeover. The ambassador spoke of a “possible opening to facilitate discussions and reassure the Premier League”. He further recommended that “seniors” from government departments and No 10 Downing Street join a call “to underline the wider HMG interest in seeing this go through and explore ways in which we could help”. He then adds: “There are a number of ways in which HMG can seek to facilitate dialogue with both the PIF and Saudi authorities on this to come up with the assurances the Premier League seek.” Grimstone’s conversations with the Premier League continued into the August, according to email disclosures previously reported by The Guardian, while Johnson heaped pressure on the league on August 7 when he intervened by writing an open letter to supporters in support of a campaign by Newcastle fans for greater transparency from the Premier League. A petition had been signed by 90,000 Newcastle fans in a drive that also had cheerleading from local MPs. Johnson wrote: “There must be clarity on why there was a significant delay in a decision being made and on the reasons the consortium decided to withdraw the bid.” In response to all of The Athletic’s enquiries, the government said: “The government has not had a role at any point in the takeover of Newcastle United. Meetings between FCO officials and the Premier League were held at the Premier League’s request. Officials gave an overview of the UK relationship with Saudi Arabia and were clear in all meetings that any prospective takeover of Newcastle United was a matter for the two parties concerned.” This statement is interesting because, though it says meetings between the Foreign Office and the Premier League were requested by the league, it does not say the government as a whole — and the Premier League did receive less solicited overtures from other parts of the state machine. The government was keen, for example, to be given advance notice of any takeover decision to assist its own communications strategy. The why and how of the Newcastle takeover being completed more than a year later remains unknown. The official Premier League version of events is that the Saudis provided “legally binding assurances” the state would not control the investment. In the end, a three-man panel of chief executive Masters, chair Hoffman and former Premier League board member Kevin Beeston unanimously passed the deal. The league insists this was not due to any external influence. But what may have changed from 2020? The process was certainly aided by an easing of tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, after the regional blockade of Qatar ended in 2021. The Saudis also announced a raft of anti-piracy measures, for which they were commended by the British Foreign Office. Eventually, the Saudis let beIN Sports know it would no longer be barred from screens there. This happened just over a week before the takeover was approved by the Premier League, with broadcast partner beIN also dropping its objections to the buyout. This news broke on October 6, and the takeover was completed on October 7. Premier League sources counter that no such multi-million-pound transaction would alter within 24 hours and stand by the solidity of their assurances. Yet others close to the process told The Athletic that another factor came into play. They claim the Premier League received advice that the continuing legal disputes over who would really control Newcastle — the PIF or the state — could require another 18 months of battle even from October 2021, at a cost of further millions to the league, and by now, there was less confidence at the Premier League, given all the circumstances, that it would actually win the case. Additionally, it was felt by the league board that the matter of piracy — which would have been a disqualifying factor in the event the state was found to be the ultimate controlling party — would have felt historical by the point at which the legal battle over control was complete. No sources spoken to by The Athletic said that concerns over human rights would influence the decision, with a source close to the process pointing out Chelsea were owned by the now-sanctioned Russian businessman Roman Abramovich. Additionally, Manchester City’s owner, the City Football Group, has links to Abu Dhabi. Eighteen months on, it is a happy-ever-after story for many Newcastle supporters, whose team are riding the crest of a wave. Crompton, the British ambassador to Saudi, is clearly enthused about it all, too. Upon confirmation of the takeover, he tweeted: “Excellent news about the PIF investment in Newcastle United. Good for the PIF, good for Newcastle and good for investment in NE of England. Howay.” He added the hashtag “SportisGREAT”. He would later tweet pictures watching Newcastle matches in Saudi cafes and he posed for a picture with Newcastle minority owner Staveley during the club’s mid-season break in Saudi in January 2022. Neither the British government nor PIF responded when asked the extent to which the latter has fulfilled its aim of directly investing $10billion into Britain, although Saudi companies SABIC and Alfanar have been reported as investing a combined $1.8billion in green aviation and decarbonisation projects on Teesside, which is also in north east England. However, during a trip to Saudi in March last year, Sky News reported that then-PM Johnson, along with Grimstone, set out to seal a multi-billion pound investment deal to replicate a $10billion agreement struck with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund a year earlier. However, the deal was never publicly announced, which may suggest it was not completed, and neither Johnson, Grimstone nor the DIT commented when asked why this was the case. End of story? Not quite. The PIF is also the funding power behind the controversial LIV Golf competition, which is engaged in a legal dispute with the long-established PGA Tour in the US. Last month, the Premier League was urged by Amnesty International to re-examine assurances given by Newcastle’s Saudi owners that the Gulf state would not have control of the club following the filing of a new court document. The legal papers, submitted by PIF lawyers, argued MBS and the PIF should be exempt from testifying as the PIF is, in their words, a “sovereign instrumentality of Saudi Arabia” and Al-Rumayyan (the chairman of Newcastle and governor of the PIF) was described as “a sitting minister of the Saudi government”. This led observers to question how the Premier League remains assured of separation when PIF’s own lawyers appear to be saying the opposite in the US. The Premier League declined to tell The Athletic whether it is looking into the matter and chief executive Masters said he could not comment when quizzed by MPs in British parliament last week. This is significant because the Premier League and PIF, as part of the takeover agreement and legally binding assurances, agreed to (non-publicised) consequences in the event control by the Saudi state does occur. In some ways, this story appears to be coming full circle. The Athletic has learnt that beIN Sports is once again unhappy with the Saudis. Saudi’s media ministry blocked the beIN-owned streaming platform TOD from broadcasting World Cup matches during the opening week of the tournament in Qatar last November. BeIN Sports, run by the Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, had actually been in discussions with the Saudi PIF over selling a stake in the company last year but those talks are now on the back-burner. Sources close to beIN have told The Athletic the firm is now giving serious consideration to reopening its investment arbitration case against Saudi Arabia, which was dropped when relations improved between the countries in 2021. The original case, submitted in London in 2018, estimated $1billion worth of damages but beIN sources now say its internal estimates are closer to $4billion. This all matters to Newcastle because if the Premier League revisits the issue of control and decides the Saudi state does control the club then matters of piracy — even if historical — may bring renewed questions about the suitability of Newcastle’s owners. And that may mean further work for the British government.
  7. Sentencing is live on Sky news.
  8. Boss game. Much easier than the first game.
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