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Newcastle bid likely to go through

The Saudi Arabia-financed consortium's bid for Newcastle United is expected to go through in the near future following the reversal of a ban on beIN Sport in the Gulf nation.

A takeover saga which has now dragged on for 18 months and seen the club embroiled in legal disputes with the Premier League is now closer to resolution and the group, led by Amanda Staveley, the British businesswoman, could soon bring to an end Mike Ashley's 14-year ownership of Newcastle.

The announcement on Wednesday that beIN Sport, the Premier League’s official Middle East broadcaster, will no longer be barred from operating in the kingdom means the takeover is on the cusp of being completed.

In July last year, Staveley’s group pulled out of a deal to buy Newcastle after the Premier League failed to give regulatory approval. The issue was the separation – or lack of – between the Saudi state and its Public Investment Fund (PIF), which would have owned an 80 per cent share of the club. Staveley would have held 10 per cent and David and Simon Reuben, the British businessmen, the other 10 per cent.

Saudi Arabia's involvement in the bid raises important questions about geopolitics, sportswashing and human rights, but a recent poll conducted by the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) found that 93.8 per cent of its members were in favour of the takeover.

The reversal of the ban on beIN Sports meanwhile ends a lengthy dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

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