Premier League
ENGLAND’S PREMIER LEAGUE BECOMES LATEST PROXY FOR SAUDI-QATAR DISPUTE
The proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Qatar has spilled over into England’s Premier League, with a Qatari broadcast company seeking to block a Saudi Arabia-backed takeover of the Newcastle United team.
The company, beIN Media Group, the rights holder for Premier League games shown in the Middle East, has sent a letter to all 20 teams in the league and to its chief executive, discouraging them from allowing any sale to go through.
The beIN group has accused Saudi Arabia of backing a multibillion-dollar piracy operation undermining its valuable television rights by siphoning off its broadcast signals.
The two wealthy countries are locked in a range of political and economic disputes, stoking tension in the Middle East. Relations soured between them in 2017 when Saudi Arabia led a regional boycott of Qatar, accusing the gas-rich emirate of a supporting terrorism and criticising its relationship with Iran.
The letters, signed by beIN’s chief executive, Yousef Al-Obaidly, could turn the Premier League into yet another battleground for the countries.
The piracy operation, known as beoutQ, which independent investigators have tied to Saudi Arabia, is the largest in sports history, with the biggest athletic events around the world targeted, most of which were sold to beIN, the world’s largest buyer of sports rights.
Under the operation, beIN’s broadcasts were transmitted via Arabsat, a regional satellite operator in which Saudi Arabia is the biggest investor, and the beIN feed was identified with a beoutQ logo.
“Why is this important? Not only has the potential acquirer of Newcastle United caused huge damage to your club’s and the Premier League’s commercial revenues, but the legacy of the illegal service will continue to impact you going forward,” Al-Obaidly wrote in the letter to the clubs.
“When the Premier League season recommences in the coming months, all of the league’s broadcasters’ content will continue to be readily and illegally available.”
In September, an investigation financed by Fifa, two of its confederations and a group of top European soccer leagues, including the Premier League, concluded “without question” that Arabsat had played a vital role in the piracy operation.
Efforts to litigate against the operation foundered after law firms in Saudi Arabia refused to represent the affected organisations.
Until the dispute, Saudi Arabia was by far beIN’s biggest market in the Middle East and North Africa.
Now it is the one country in the world where Premier League content is accessible via only illegal means: either through beIN, which has been banned in the country since 2017, or via illegal television boxes, including beoutQ.
Very little has been said publicly about the sale of Newcastle, but reports of an imminent sale have increased in the past week. The Wall Street Journal in late January first revealed talks between Newcastle’s unpopular owner, Mike Ashley, and a group in which Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is said to be the biggest investor.
Scepticism about the deal remains because of the involvement of English businesswoman Amanda Staveley and her advisory firm, PCP Capital Partners, which have been rumoured to be on the verge of buying Newcastle for several years.
In January 2018, during a previous bout of speculation that linked Staveley to a purchase, advisers close to Ashley released a statement saying there had been “no deal on the table or even under discussion with Amanda Staveley and PCP.”
“Attempts to reach a deal with Amanda Staveley and PCP have proved exhausting, frustrating and a complete waste of time,” the advisers said at the time.
This time around, the talk is being taken more seriously because of recent documents filed with the companies register for the United Kingdom that link Staveley with the holding company through which Ashley, a retail billionaire, controls Newcastle.
There has been no comment from Staveley, Newcastle, the Public Investment Fund or the Premier League, which screens potential new investors through a process known as the owners and directors test.
“To the extent the reports about the acquisition of NUFC are correct, we consider it essential for the Premier League to fully investigate the potential acquirer of the club, including all directors, officers and other representatives from the KSA PIF or other Saudi Arabian entities involved in or otherwise providing any financing for the acquisition,” Al-Obaidly wrote in a separate letter to the Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Masters.
“There appear to be several reasons such an investigation is being called for by other parties, the letter continued. “Our request is purely based on Saudi Arabia’s past and present theft of your and your member clubs’ intellectual property rights.”
There has already been much scrutiny and public comment because of the potential for Saudi state involvement in a league in which owners include the brother of Abu Dhabi’s crown prince and a Russian oligarch close to President Vladimir Putin.
Human rights groups have criticised the potential sale to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Amnesty International’s UK director, Kate Allen, also wrote a letter to Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive.
“Unless the Premier League pauses and looks seriously at the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia, it risks becoming a patsy,” Allen wrote, warning Masters not to allow the league to be used for what she described as “sportswashing” by Saudi Arabia.
“How can this be positive for the reputation and image of the Premier League?” Allen wrote.
Human rights groups have previously made the same criticism of Qatar’s interests in soccer, which include ownership of the Paris St-Germain team and the hosting rights to the 2022 World Cup.
For the majority of Newcastle fans, the prospect of a wealthy owner to replace Ashley, an unpopular figure for years, has been a welcome one. Fans have taken to social media expressing support for the idea and even changed their profiles to include the Saudi Arabian flag or the image of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
-New York Times
Liverpool will have to wait for a few more days to be crowned Premier League champions despite a 1-0 victory at Leicester City after Arsenal kept their slender hopes just about alive with a 4-0 romp at 10-man Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold came off the bench to score Liverpool’s winner in the 76th minute at the King Power Stadium to restore their 13-point lead at the top with five games left.
While Liverpool can almost taste a record-equalling 20th English crown, Leicester’s defeat confirmed their relegation back to the Championship after just one season.
The Midlands club have now been relegated from England’s top flight a record 13 times.
Chelsea secured a massive win in their bid to qualify for the Champions League as they came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage with Pedro Neto scoring in stoppage time.
The win pushed Chelsea above Nottingham Forest in to fifth place, the last spot for qualification to the Champions League, although Forest play at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
Chelsea have 57 points from 33 games, two behind third-placed Newcastle United and one behind Manchester City. Forest and Aston Villa are level with Chelsea on 57 points.
Wolverhampton Wanderers guaranteed their safety as they beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. Pablo Sarabia’s stunning free kick wrapped up a fifth successive league win, the first time Wolves have achieved that in the top flight since 1970.
Liverpool were wasteful at Leicester with numerous chances going begging and Mohamed Salah suffering a frustrating afternoon including hitting both posts with an early shot.
Salah hit the woodwork again moments before the ball came out to Alexander-Arnold who fired a left-footed shot through the crowd to give his side the points — ripping off his shirt and celebrating wildly with the travelling fans.
“We just keep going, mentally we’re really strong,” manager Arne Slot, whose side could be crowned champions if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, told Sky Sports.
“They enjoy playing football and it helps when you are playing for something special. Today (Alexander-Arnold) knows when it matters most he can just bring a bit more which is something all the top, top players have.”
DISTANT SECOND
If Arsenal avoid defeat by Palace, Slot’s side will seal the title if they beat Tottenham Hotspur at home next Sunday.
“We will focus on Tottenham and looking forward again to a home game and I think the stadium will be full,” Slot, who can become the first Dutch manager to win the English title, said. “It’s a nice game to look forward to.”
Liverpool have 79 points with Arsenal a distant second on 66. Arsenal may have their eyes now on a Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain, but they showed against Ipswich they will not hand over the title to Liverpool.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring early on and Gabriel Martinelli made it 2-0 after a delightful flick by Mikel Merino.
Ipswich were reduced to 10 men before halftime as Leif Davis crudely raked his studs down the back of Bukayo Saka’s calf and the second half was academic.
Trossard grabbed his second in the 69th minute and Ethan Nwaneri added a late fourth to leave Ipswich stuck in 18th place on 21 points. They will be relegated if they drop points again or 17th-placed West Ham United pick up one more point from their remaining five games.
Chelsea were heading for a damaging defeat at neighbours Fulham as the hosts led with Alex Iwobi’s 20th-minute goal.
Substitute Tyrique George equalised with an instinctive shot in the 83rd minute, his first Premier League goal, before winger Neto swivelled and unleashed a thunderous strike in stoppage time to send the away fans wild.
Manchester United reached the Europa League semi-final with an astonishing comeback win against French club Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday but their Premier League woes returned against Wolves.
They are in 14th place and have now lost eight Premier League home games this season, their most defeats at Old Trafford in a league campaign since 1962-63.
“Wolves scored in the only opportunity they had. we had many chances, and we didn’t score. If you don’t score goals, you are not going to win games,” manager Ruben Amorim said.
-Reuters
Egyptian outlet, Ahram, has reported that Mohamed Salah has signed a new contract with Liverpool, extending his stay at Anfield beyond the 2024-25 season as he prepares for what could be the final chapter of a storied career with the club.
While the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, British media reports indicate the 32-year-old forward has signed a two-year extension, keeping him at the club until at least 2027.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from AS Roma in 2017, has become a modern-day icon at Anfield.
The Egyptian international has scored 243 goals in 394 appearances—third on the club’s all-time scorers list—and has helped the Reds secure seven major trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League titles.
“I had my best years here,” Salah told the club’s website. “Hopefully it’s going to be 10. I signed because I believe we can still win big trophies together.”
He has maintained his prolific form this season, scoring 32 goals and providing 22 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions. His 27 Premier League goals currently lead the division.
During his time with Liverpool, Salah has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times, been named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice, and claimed two FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
Now entering the latter stages of his career, Salah remains focused on adding more silverware to his collection and further cementing his legacy at Liverpool.
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Leicester City’s Jeremy Monga, who became the second-youngest Premier League player when he made his senior debut in Monday’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle United, had to wear a blank shirt because it is sponsored by an online cryptocurrency gaming platform.
Britain’s Gambling Act 2005, which underwent a review in 2020, prohibits players under 18 from wearing kits displaying gambling sponsors. Monga, an England U16 international, made his senior debut at 15 years 271 days old.
Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri remains the youngest Premier League player in history, having debuted in the competition when he was 90 days younger than Monga.
Leicester, who suffered an eighth straight loss in the league without scoring a goal, are 19th in the standings, 15 points below the safety zone.
-Reuters
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