Last update on.From section Premier League
Staveley, Newcastle part-owner, on the way forward
Amnesty International wrote to Richard Masters, Premier League chief executive, requesting an urgent meeting to discuss proposed changes to football's takeover rules.
This comes just a few days after Newcastle was taken over by a Saudi Arabian-backed organization.
According to the Premier League, the new owners are separate from the state.
Sacha Deshmukh (Amnesty International UK chief executive) says that the deal raises a lot of "troubling" questions.
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund financed 80% of the takeover, whose chair was Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Although there are numerous human rights concerns associated with the kingdom, the Premier League claims it has been given legal assurances by the new owners that the Saudi government would not be controlling Newcastle United. If it were to prove otherwise, it would face severe sanctions.
Deshmukh stated that the Premier League's approval of the deal raises troubling questions about sportswashing and human rights, as well as about the integrity and playability of English football.
"How is it possible that the Premier League's current directors' and owners' tests have nothing to say about human right?"
A fan-led assessment of English football governance and English football's governance is currently underway.
Nigel Huddleston, the sports minister, stated recently that any acquisition of a team is "a problem for football".
He stated that he expected a proper and fit test to be administered, but added that "at the end of the day, we have to trust football to do it's job and take care of itself."
Deshmukh said: "The events last week will have given more urgency to Government's ongoing examination of the governance of English soccer.
"Football has become a global sport. It is urgent that it revises its ownership rules in order to stop people who are involved in serious human rights violations buying into the excitement and glamour of English football.
