Newcastle United: Saudi-backed takeover is 'heartbreaking,' says fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi

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On Thursday, Newcastle fans gathered at St James' Park to celebrate the takeover

Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee has stated that she is heartbroken by the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover Newcastle United.

Khashoggi was a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and was shot to death while visiting the Saudi consulate at Istanbul in October 2018.

Western intelligence agencies have concluded that the crown prince ordered the murder, which he strongly denies.

Hatice Cengiz, who was to marry Khashoggi, said that she was very disappointed.

"What I have been doing since Jamal's murder is seeking justice every day for Jamal, every opportunity that I found or every place that I can go to ask more.

"Suddenly, I saw the news. People were talking about the takeover. I said, "Please, don't do that. Please be respectful of yourself."

All you need to know about the takeover - all in one location. Scroll through our Newcastle page to find all the latest information.

After receiving "legally binding assurances", the Premier League approved Newcastle's 305m purchase.

Mohammed bin Salman, the chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), will provide 80% of the funds and is considered separate from the state.

Although the Saudi Arabian state was accused of human rights violations, the majority owner PIF has been deemed a separate entity. This means that any piracy issues and other obstacles to the takeover are no longer an obstacle, according to the Premier League.

Staveley, Newcastle part-owner, on the way forward

"Newcastle supporters just care about the club’s financial future."

PIF has assets of $250bn making Newcastle one the most wealthy clubs in the world. However, Cengiz stated that she wanted to remind fans that there are other important things than Newcastle's financial health.

Cengiz said, "It seems that they [Newcastle supporters] don't care what happened to Jamal. They just care about the future financial," during a BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast interview.

"I want them to remember that money is not everything. There is more important than the financial position of this club.

"There are more valuable values than we have, and we must have them in our lives."

"You should tell them they can't buy an English team because of this crime. It is the clear message every English person should send."

She said, "We must remind them about what they did Jamal. Because no one was held responsible, so we should punish them in other ways.

Jamal paid a very high price for freedom of speech, so you should at least respect his soul.

Starmer is'very worried' about the takeover

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was concerned about the Saudi-led consortium taking over Newcastle. He also stressed the need to establish an independent regulator to ensure better governance of football.

"Tracey Crouch is a Tory MP who has done a review of the governance for football - we're feeding into that, however, I am concerned about governance," he said to BBC Breakfast.

"I believe we need an Independent Regulator - We have seen this with so Many Clubs now over the past year or two – we need an Independent Regulator and a Different Test for Directors of Clubs."

He said, "I believe it should be passed through an independent regular because of serious concerns about its human rights record.

"This takeover is very concerning to me.

"It's not my job as leader of the opposition say who should own which soccer club. It's up to an independent regulator. That is the scheme that we are proposing, Tracey Crouch's reply, she's respected throughout the House, and the sooner that we get that review, the better."