The Bellagraph Nova Group in Paris.As Phaedrus once wrote:“Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.”
I have thought of Phaedrus’s wisdom more than once when investigating prospective new owners of Newcastle United. Who can forget Rick Parker’s infamous Mackem ‘fakeover‘ where a Sunderland supporting scallywag posed as ‘Richard Parkinson,’ a £250 million textile baron and offshore investor from Ponteland who declared an interest in buying the club for £90 million, promising to turn Newcastle United into a fan’s trust and reinstalling Alan Shearer as manager with a large transfer kitty. Then there was Barry Moat, the mysterious ‘Capital Group’ and several others… (more…)
Saudi Press Agency: Claiming that WTO report exhonerates KSA Earlier today, I published the WTO report on Saudi Arabia’s piracy of Premier League games and as expected, it didn’t take long for the Saudi Press Agency to respond to the ruling, which I am also publishing below in full. Unsurprisingly, they try to put a very positive spin on it, even claiming that the WTO actually rejected the allegation that the Saudi government supported piracy, but I will make no further comment on it until I have studied the full 125 page report in detail, along with the much shorter response below. (more…)
WTO rule that Saudis blocked justice over PiracyBelow is the conclusion of the World Trade Organization panel report on Saudi Arabia’s protection of intellectual property rights, along with a link to the full 125 page report published today.
7.4.4 Conclusion
7.294. For these reasons, the Panel finds that the requirements for invoking Article73(b)(iii) are met in relation to the inconsistency with Article 42 and Article 41.1 of the TRIPS Agreement (*850) arising from the measures that, directly or indirectly, have had the result of preventing beIN from obtaining Saudi legal counsel to enforce its IP rights through civil enforcement procedures before Saudi courts and tribunals. The Panel also finds that the requirements for invoking Article73(b)(iii) are not met in relation to the inconsistency with Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement arising from Saudi Arabia’s non-application of criminal procedures and penalties to beoutQ. (more…)
Would UEFA close the door on Newcastle? When a football club takeover involves a cast of characters including the World Trade Organization, the United States Trade Representative, Amnesty International, Saudi Arabian Pirates, Neil Kinnock, a Middle East proxy war, the fiance of a brutally murdered journalist, a former World Chess Champion, FIFA, UEFA, AFC, The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and many others it could only be for one club, Newcastle United.
At this time, the Saudi led consortium’s bid to take over the Magpies hangs on the (much delayed) decision by the Premier League as to whether the prospective buyers are ‘fit and proper’ people to take over a Premier League club. Many column inches and web pages (mostly drivel) have been wasted on it. However, there is another aspect of the deal which doesn’t seem to have been thought of at all. What I mean is that overcoming the Premier League hurdle will not necessarily be the end of the story if the new regime have ambitions for the Magpies to compete in UEFA competitions such as the Europa League and the Champions League. (more…)
Pochettino: Constantly linked with Newcastle. Newcastle United fans are currently on tenterhooks as they wait for further news about the proposed takeover of the club.
Supporters are desperate to see the back of Mike Ashley and embark on what many believe will be a brighter future under the Saudi-led consortium.
With huge resources expected to be pumped into the club, there will be plenty of fans using the bet365 bonus code to back Newcastle to win silverware next season.
Read on as we take a closer look at the latest state-of-play regarding the takeover and the immediate impact it could have on the club. (more…)
