Toon must be on alert

Our voice of the North

THE clamour to see the back of Mike Ashley has led to many passionate people who love Newcastle United to lose their perspective.

The proposed takeover by Saudi Arabia is a murky business.

The Saudis are accused of TV broadcast piracy, theft from the Premier League, FIFA, UEFA, La Liga and others on a global scale.

Human rights abuses, the murder of a journalist, lawyers, lobbyists, a Middle Eastern trade blockade and the World Trade Organisation have all taken centre stage in an excruciating 11 weeks of polarised debate.

Toon fans are largely left-leaning, community-spirited folk with a social conscience. So why are some trying to excuse the Saudi state of their obvious wrongdoings?

Piracy? Nothing to do with the Public Investment Fund who want to take an 80 per cent stake, the shout. It happens everywhere. The Saudis simply didn’t clamp down on it, nothing really to do with them. Amnesty International and the widow of Jamal Khashoggi complain? Dismissed by some as troublemakers threatening the riches about to be bestowed.

Anyone raising legitimate concerns is shot down, but the reality can’t be ignored. TV piracy should be condemned. It costs the Premier League – and Newcastle – money. As should the human rights record. Tougher questions should also be asked of what the takeover will mean.

Will it really mean a huge cash injection for new players? Maybe not.

The latest indications are that the Saudis will run the club with its own self-generated cash. That’s the way of Ashley (above) – only with better PR and a grander mission statement?

And what’s in it for Amanda Staveley and co? How much money is her PCP Capital Partners putting into the deal for a 10 per cent cut? We don’t know yet.

Toon fans – and journalists – need to keep their critical faculties switched on and not be compliant cheerleaders.