Newcastle fans long disgruntled with Mike Ashley’s abominable and arbitrary management of the club’s affairs have every reason to spruce up and buff their dancing shoes should the League give their official blessings to the Saudi PIF- backed takeover.
But ironically just when it looked like diehard Newcastle fans might finally get rid of Mike Ashley and prime themselves to welcome the dawn of a new era, it appears now like a regime with even more questionable motives is on the verge of taking over.
Numerous dissident groups around the world have been lobbying against oodles of Saudi Arabian money being ploughed into a Premier League club, with concerns about it simply being used as propaganda to cover up an atrocious human rights record.
Broadcaster beIN Sport have been fairly vocal in spouting their obvious disapproval about the Saudi takeover bid – which has stirred some ripples and caused a delay – although not for reasons linked to the sovereignty of human rights like we might want to think.
The Telegraph reported that the takeover had been delayed due to a specific issue raised by the broadcaster. Suffice I to say that, just like everything else in the corporate world, no action is ever taken unless someone in the corridors of power looks set to miss out financially. The report suggests that the broadcaster have raised a complaint about Saudi Arabia’s involvement with piracy in terms of the broadcasting of Premier League matches.
It’s been suggested that this won’t be enough to prevent the takeover from happening eventually, but it seems to have hit the pause button momentarily.
Depending on how the Newcastle fans see it, it’s a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea.