A report by The Guardian has revealed that, despite numerous denials, the Government did indeed have a hand in getting the recent Saudi-backed takeover over the line.
Without getting too political, it’s not exactly a huge secret that Boris Johnson and his crew are fond of the odd little lie here and there, so it should really come as no shock to find out that he lied about his involvement in brokering the deal to get the PIF, Staveley, Reuben consortium into the corridors of power at St James’ Park.
Lord Gerry Grimstone, Minister for Investment, apparently went right to the top of the tree, dealing with Mohammed Bin Salman himself to convince then Premier League chairman, Gary Hoffman, that the deal would be in the UK’s strategic and economic interests. He was even involved in brokering a deal to end the Saudi piracy issue which plagued the takeover. It was widely believed that the piracy issue was the biggest stumbling block, backed up by the fact that the day after Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on BeIN Sports, the takeover was ratified.
The takeover is still a contentious issue to this day with some media outlets finding any reason to reignite the controversy for the sake of clicks, and this report is one that very much blurs the lines between football and politics even further.
As fans, we find ourselves defending the takeover almost daily, but people on the outside can’t seem to grasp that it’s not the Saudi Government we’re supporting, it’s Newcastle United. To us, it’s Amanda Staveley’s Newcastle United. Is it unfortunate where the money comes from? Sure. But is it the only unclean source of wealth in the UK? Far from it. This is what the Toon Army have issue with, it seems like all fingers are pointed at NUFC and nowhere else, and now with it being revealed that Boris and co got involved, we’re in for another round of defending our position.