She is indignant at this new entrant in the Premier League. The takeover of the Newcastle club by a Saudi fund is “a shame for English football”, carried out in defiance of “human rights” and “justice”, denounced Friday Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
” I am very sad. I guess money is more important than anything in this life, ”she told Sky News, the day after the English club was bought out by a consortium including Saudi investment fund PCP Capital Partners and the David brothers and Simon Reuben.
Saudi crown prince named as sponsor of assassination
Her fiancé Jamal Khashoggi, a former close to Saudi power of whom he had become a fierce detractor, was assassinated in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been named by Turkish and American officials as the sponsor of the assassination. “MBS” later said he took responsibility for the murder as a leader, but denied any knowledge of it before it was committed.
The takeover of North East England football club, which had been owned for 14 years by British businessman Mike Ashley, has been estimated at around £ 300m (€ 353m at current price) by UK media. He will give the Saudi sovereign investment fund 80% of the shares.
“How can the players, the fans and the Newcastle manager come to terms with this situation? Hatice Cengiz asked. “Where are the values, where are the human rights, responsibility and justice for all? It breaks my heart to remind the West of these values ”. “It is a real shame for Newcastle and for English football”, she hammered, asking the fans of the club to “position themselves” at her side to “defend our values and (demand) justice for Jamal”.
Thousands of jubilant supporters gathered outside Newcastle Stadium on Thursday evening to celebrate the deal with an impromptu party, leaving empty bottles and other debris behind on Friday morning.
A die-hard supporter, retiree Justin Cowan admitted that there were “concerns” among fans, but that they were generally happy with the buyout after “waiting for it so long.” The Saudis “have human rights issues, everyone knows that,” he said, “but we need them. It’s great for the city ”.
Before the takeover became official, Amnesty International called on the Premier League to tighten the criteria for acquiring a football club in England, “instead of allowing people involved in serious human rights violations to enter football. English simply because their pockets are full ”.
“UK could become a platform for dictators”
The organization claims to have “received legally binding guarantees that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control the club Newcastle United”.
But for Saudi academic Madawi Al-Rasheed, professor at the London School of Economics, “MBS” will be directly involved in the club’s decisions. “It is very unrealistic to say that there is a separation between public and private funds in Saudi Arabia,” she told Channel 4 News.
“The UK could become a platform for the dictators of this world,” warned Madawi Al-Rasheed, for whom the British have just “sold a crown jewel to a crown with blood on its hands” .
