Newcastle’s £305m Saudi takeover faces fresh scrutiny

Fresh documents have caused concerns

Fresh doubts have emerged surrounding Newcastle's £305m Saudi takeover after chairman Yasir Al Rumayyan was described as a "sitting member" of the Saudi government in documents submitted to a court in the United States. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) bought a controlling stake in the Magpies in October 2021 but the deal only went through after they gave the Premier League "legally-binding assurances" that Saudi Arabia would have no say in the running of the club. The PIF is currently challenging an order to produce documents in a US lawsuit involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, claiming that the fund and its governor Al Rumayyan "are not ordinary third parties". A document seen by the PA News Agency, that was filed on Tuesday, said: "The order is an extraordinary infringement on the sovereignty of a foreign state that is far from justified here. The PIF and His Excellency Yasir Othman Al Rumayyan are not ordinary third parties subject to basic discovery relevance standards. "They are a sovereign instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a sitting minister of the Saudi government, and they cannot be compelled to provide testimony and documents in a US proceeding unless their conduct – not LIV's or anyone else's – is truly the 'gravamen' of the case." Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is the chairman of the PIF. Last week, Newcastle appointed Mrs Asmaa Mohammed Rezeeq as a director and as reported by the Daily Mail, it is believed she is a global investments partner with the PIF. Both Newcastle and the PIF declined to comment to the Mail. Related links:

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