POLICE INVESTIGATING PALACE FANS OVER ‘OFFENSIVE’ BANNER

CRYSTAL PALACE fans are under police investigation for unfurling a banner protesting at the human rights record of Newcastle’s new Saudi owners.

The banner accused the Saudi regime, backers of the takeover of Newcastle, of murder, terrorism and beheadings and took a swipe at the Premier League’s Owners and Directors test.

Police last night said they had received complaints that the mural was ‘offensive’.

‘Officers are assessing the information and carrying out enquiries,’ said Croydon Metropolitan Police after the match, which ended 1-1. ‘Any allegations of racist abuse will be taken very seriously.’

Palace fan group Holmesdale Fanatics designed the banner and also Tweeted a tirade against both the Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle and league bosses.

‘It is clear the P.I.F (the stateowned Saudi investment fund) is a front for the tyrannical ruling Saudi regime and by endorsing this, the Premier League has made a mockery of its own Owners and Directors test,’ the statement said. ‘In green-lighting this deal, the Premier League has done business with one of the world’s most bloody and repressive regimes.

‘We are lucky to live in a country where we can display a banner like this without repercussion. Many in Saudi Arabia wish they were afforded those same basic rights.’