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ENGLAND’S PREMIER LEAGUE BECOMES LATEST PROXY FOR SAUDI-QATAR DISPUTE

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win

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Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, centre left, Ryan Gravenberch, centre, and Diogo Jota celebrate after the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at Selhurst Park in London, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. AP

Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 1-0 to remain top of the Premier League as Arsenal and Manchester City came from behind to win on Saturday.

City were 3-2 victors over Fulham to stay one point behind Liverpool, alongside Arsenal who saw off Southampton 3-1.

Arne Slot has now won nine of his first 10 games since succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, but was frustrated that the visitors invited a late onslaught from the winless Eagles.

Jota prodded the Reds into the lead from Cody Gakpo’s cross on nine minutes.

The Portuguese international was then guilty of missing two big chances to extend Liverpool’s advantage.

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Palace failed to make them pay, but victory came at a cost for Slot as goalkeeper Alisson Becker limped off with a hamstring injury.

“If you score the second you break them mentally,” said Slot. “All the fans kept believing in a result because it was only 1-0, even though in my opinion we were the dominant team.”

Fresh from a dominant win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Arsenal were expected to sweep aside winless Southampton.

But the Saints shocked the Emirates 10 minutes into the second half when Cameron Archer fired in his first Premier League goal since a summer move from Aston Villa.

The lead only lasted three minutes before Kai Havertz scored for the seventh consecutive home game.

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Gabriel Martinelli was introduced after an hour and took just eight minutes to make his mark with a finish on the volley from Bukayo Saka’s cross.

Having set up Arsenal’s first two goals, Saka pounced on a loose ball to score the third himself.

Fulham’s outrageous opener
 

Rodri’s season-long absence due to a serious knee injury is expected to be a major blow to City’s chances of retaining the title for a fifth consecutive season.

But it was the Spaniard’s deputy Mateo Kovacic who scored twice to turn the game around for the champions at the Etihad.

The visitors had not lost since the opening night of the season at Manchester United and led thanks to Andreas Pereira’s finish from an outrageous backheel assist by Raul Jimenez.

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Kovacic’s deflected effort quickly brought City level before a cleaner strike less than two minutes into the second half made it 2-1.

Jeremy Doku then smashed into the top corner from outside the box to give City a two-goal cushion, which they needed.

Rodrigo Muniz gave Fulham hope on 88 minutes, but City held out for a 17th consecutive win against the Cottagers.

West Ham eased the pressure on new boss Julen Lopetegui by ending a run of three home defeats to start the new season.

Michail Antonio, Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta struck for the Hammers in a 4-1 win over Ipswich, who are still waiting for their first Premier League win 22 years.

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There were six goals before half-time as Brentford beat Wolves 5-3 to leave the visitors still rooted to the foot of the table.

Leicester secured their first league win of the season as Facundo Buonanotte’s strike beat Bournemouth 1-0.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag faces a huge match if he is to remain in charge when the Red Devils visit Aston Villa in the pick of Sunday’s action.

-AFP

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Premier League rejects City request to delay next season’s games after Club World Cup

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 Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 28, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts REUTERS/Scott Heppell/File photo

The Premier League has rejected Manchester City’s request to postpone the first two games of the 2025-26 season to help the players recover after their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the U.S., the club’s manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday.

City and Chelsea are the two English clubs who have qualified for the expanded month-long Club World Cup set to start on June 15. The Premier League’s season will begin in August.

An increasingly packed soccer calendar has been a concern among a growing number of players and managers. A report by global players’ union FIFPRO said some players get only 12% of the year to rest.

The Premier League did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

City midfielder Rodri said in September that players could be close to strike action over the time they are required to play. A knee ligament injury has since put him out for the season.

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“I don’t know if we will play more games than the treble year (2022-23)… maybe we’ll play less games,” Guardiola told reporters.

“The Premier League has not allowed us to postpone the first two games for our recovery. Thank you so much. They don’t postpone these games so that will be the moment of, oh, what do we have to do?”

He said the Club World Cup will make it even more difficult for clubs to manage player workload.

-Reuters

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Ten Hag’s Man United future not my call, Ratcliffe says

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FA Cup - Final - Manchester City v Manchester United - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - May 25, 2024 Manchester United co owner Jim Ratcliffe is pictured in the stands before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo

Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said a decision about under-fire manager Erik ten Hag is not his call, and was reticent about whether he still has faith in the team’s boss amid their worst start to the Premier League season since 1986-87.

“I don’t want to answer that question,” Ratcliffe told the BBC. “I like Erik. I think he’s a very good coach but at the end of the day it’s not my call, it’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.

“That team that’s running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren’t there in January, February, March or April — Omar (Berrada, CEO), (Sporting Director) Dan Ashworth — they only arrived in July.

“They’ve only been there . . . you can count it in weeks almost — they’ve not been there a long time so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.”

Ten Hag’s job was the subject of speculation for much of last season en route to the team’s lowest Premier League finish of eighth. After an FA Cup final victory over Manchester City and an end-of-season review, however, Ten Hag signed a new contract to extend his stay at Old Trafford until 2026.

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“Our objective is very clear, we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it’s not there yet, obviously, that’s very clear,” Ratcliffe said.

Ten Hag continues to plead for patience from fans with the team languishing 13th in the Premier League table, having lost three of their six opening games. They were headed towards defeat by Porto in the Europa League on Thursday before Harry Maguire scored a last-gasp goal to salvage a 3-3 draw.

-Reuters

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