Newcastle United’s prospective Saudi Arabian takeover appears to be rumbling into another week with the decision in the hands of the Premier League.
And ChronicleLive reporter Lee Ryder has delivered a fresh update into the situation following a couple of fresh twists a several days ago.
The journalist was answering questions in a recent fan Q&A, where he said:
“For all Twitter has asked us to question the Premier League directly, there is dialogue between us as the top-flight. We are consistently being told that the process remains “ongoing”.
“What you can take from that is that it hasn’t collapsed yet and there’s still some work to do on the deal. I think for everybody’s sake though this situation needs to be concluded one way or another. It certainly looked strange to see Saudi Arabia block any TV coverage of the league they are hoping to be able to be part of next season.
“One thing the Premier League did confirm was that Saudi Arabia are not in a position to even bid for the rights for Premier League coverage for a couple of years. As it stands there is no legal way to watch Newcastle in Saudi Arabia next season.”
Earlier in the week, the Saudi government announced they had banned beIN Sports from broadcasting in the country, meaning there is now no legal way to watch the Premier League – a baffling move considering their nation’s public investment fund is trying to purchase one of its member clubs.
Ryder mentions this and claims that the PL have confirmed that the Middle Eastern state are unable to bid for the rights for a couple of years as the Qatari network holds the MENA rights.
Will this takeover ever happen?
Yes!
No!
It’s a worrying development as the main issue holding up the £300m deal has seemingly been the issue of piracy in Saudi Arabia and now their people can’t watch the English top-flight without breaking some sort of law.
Meanwhile, Henry Mauriss’ attempts to try and wriggle in at the last minute have increased with the American holding talks with Mike Ashley.
We’re left wondering if this is ever going to end?