Newcastle’s protracted Saudi Arabian takeover is growing ever-more complicated with some Premier League clubs expressing reservations about the league’s board clearing the deal, which would see the Saudi Pubic Investment Fund buy 80 per cent of the cub,
Clubs are angry with the failure of the Saudi state to deal with TV station beoutQ, which is illegally pirating Premier League games. It has emerged that the UK Government took the issue so seriously that former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond raised the issue with the Saudis last year during a diplomatic visit.