August 6 – Amnesty International has written to the English Premier League proposing a new owners and directors test that covers human rights concerns and sport-washing following the collapse of the takeover of Newcastle United by a Saudi-led consortium.
Throughout the takeover process, Amnesty criticised the prospective deal which would have seen Saudi Arabia ‘s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – fronted by the country’s controversial Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman – take an 80% stake, describing it as a “blatant attempt” at sport-washing.
In its letter, sent to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, Amnesty says the current test is “hopelessly unsuited” to scrutinise the human rights records of club owners and says the Premier League should in future consider whether a prospective owner or director has been complicit in serious violations of international human rights law, or any conduct that is at odds with the Premier League’s anti-discrimination policy.
“The controversy around the Saudi-Newcastle has been a major wake-up call – the Premier League urgently needs to get its house in order,” said Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK’s Director.
“The current owners’ and directors’ test is hopelessly unsuited to the task of vetting who gets to own and run English football clubs – it needs a serious overhaul.
“Top-flight football needs to sort out this thorny issue of ownership. The owners’ and directors’ test simply hasn’t kept up with modern trends in international football ownership, not least with foreign powers buying their way into the game.”
Amnesty points out that the phrase “human rights” does not even appear in the text of the test despite English football supposedly adhering to FIFA standards in terms of being committed to respecting human rights.
“The Owners’ and Directors’ test simply hasn’t kept up with modern trends in international football ownership, not least with foreign powers buying their way into the game,” says Amnesty.
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