Human rights group demands major overhaul of league’s test

AMNESTY International has demanded a ‘proper overhaul’ of the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test following the latest allegations about the Newcastle United takeover.

Fresh developments in the saga claim Mohammed bin Salman made a personal plea to PM Boris Johnson for a decision last summer.

The Premier League issued “no comment” on the latest revelations, while the Government has denied it was involved ‘at any point’ in the takeover decision.

The claims came just hours after the Chronicle’s FOI investigation found the Government believed a Premier League decision on the Saudi-led buyout of the Magpies was just hours away in June 2020.

Now, Amnesty International have issued a statement addressing the allegations surrounding Johnson’s and bin Salman’s involvement in the bid last summer.

Kate Allen, the human rights group’s UK director, said: “Reports Mohammed Bin Salman made threats about possible damage to UK-Saudi relations if the deal did not go ahead only illustrates this was always more than just a commercial transaction within football.

“At the time the crown prince was putting this pressure on No 10, the world was still reeling from the fall-out over Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, Saudi human rights activists like Loujain al-Hathloul were languishing in jail and Saudi warplanes were bombing Yemen.

“There needs to be a proper overhaul of the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test to provide proper human rights scrutiny of who is trying to buy into the glamour of English football.”