Email Richard Masters – Chief Executive of the Premier League

Demand an investigation into the Saudi Arabian ownership of Newcastle United by emailing Richard Masters today.

Mr

Richard

Masters

Premier League

Dear Richard Masters,

I am writing to you about Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) takeover of Newcastle United. A fund that is chaired by Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia is a country with a terrible human rights record and it is trying to use sports to launder its reputation. It should be your responsibility to prevent this from happening in the Premier League.

Only last week, it was reported that the Premier League will bring in tougher rules on its owners and directors - including disqualification for individuals found guilty of “human rights abuses”.[1] Since the Newcastle takeover in October 2021, the Saudi regime has executed more than 160 people, including scores of people whose only crime was to demand fundamental freedoms. More than 1,000 people have been executed since Mohammed bin Salman and his father came to power in 2015.[2]

If Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses are not counted as a “disqualifying human rights abuse”, then this new rule has no teeth and is just for show.

Lives are at stake. Let me tell you about Abdullah al-Howaiti. He is a child defendant currently on death row. Abdullah was just 14 years old when he was arrested, tortured and forced to ‘confess’ to a crime he couldn’t have committed – as he was at the seafront playing football with his friends.

At least 15 child defendants have been executed since 2011. It's because of this that I fear for Abdullah’s life.

When Saudi Arabia’s PIF took over Newcastle United you said, “There are legally binding assurances that essentially the state will not be in charge of the club.” And, “If we find evidence to the contrary, we can remove the consortium as owners of the club.”[3]

The evidence is here. Newcastle chairman, Yasir al-Rumayyan, has been described as “a sitting minister of the Saudi government” in a court document submitted in the United States. The documents were submitted by the Public Investment Fund’s own legal team.[4]

Last year, you said that the Premier League "plays a big role in the economic and social fabric of this country."[5] As such, I urge you to think about the morality of allowing one of our biggest clubs to be owned by a state that executes people, including child defendants and protestors.

Therefore, I respectfully request that you re-visit and re-investigate the takeover of Newcastle United by Saudi Arabia.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First name} {user_data~Last name}

[1] Premier League owners’ test to include disqualification for ‘human rights abuses’, The Independent, 30 March 2023, https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league-owners-test-human-rights-b2311009.html
[2] Bloodshed and Lies: Mohammed bin Salman’s Kingdom of Executions, Reprieve, 31 January 2023, https://reprieve.org/uk/2023/01/31/saudi-arabia-and-the-death-penalty-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-rise-in-executions-under-mohammed-bin-salman/ 
[3] Richard Masters reveals Newcastle owners can be removed if evidence of Saudi state controlling club, Evening Standard, 26 November 2021, https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/richard-masters-newcastle-saudi-state-owners-b968587.html 
[4] Court document describes Newcastle chairman as ‘sitting Saudi minister’, The Guardian, 1 March 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/01/newcastle-united-chairman-court-document-sitting-saudi-arabia-government-minister 
[5] Richard Masters speaks ahead of the Premier League's 30th anniversary, 3 August 2022, Sky Sports News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYLbsMLfMBU

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