This episode is also available as a blog post: http://sportslawandpolicyreviewreporter.com/2022/04/05/the-interjection-of-european-football-and-world-politics-the-newcastle-united-football-club-takeover-amidst-the-saudi-arabia-qatar-ipr-dispute%ef%bf%bc/

The Interjection of European Football and World Politics: The Newcastle United Football Club Takeover Amidst the Saudi Arabia–Qatar IPR Dispute

The Middle East influence on European football has increasingly become apparent in recent years. One of the significant reasons that these Gulf countries have started investing in football is to increase their soft power in Europe. They usually inject much-needed funds into all these clubs to help them make high-profile signings and thereby get better results in all competitions. Investing in football also helps such authoritarian regimes whitewash their public image, which is stained with human rights abuses and extinguishing freedom of speech.

Newcastle United’s takeover by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), whose chairman is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia—Mohammed bin Salman, is the most recent example of such Gulf-led investment in European football, aimed at sports-washing. The takeover saga was long and initial talks had broken down last year mainly due to media piracy concerns. BeIN sports accused Saudi Arabia, a Doha based broadcasting company, of propping up the network beoutQ and helping them pirate major sporting events, including the English Premier League (EPL) in Saudi Arabia after the Saudis had banned beIN due to national security concerns. Qatar raised a subsequent WTO dispute, and the matter was taken to the panel for discussion. In this article, the author will discuss how the IP dispute acted as the primary legal block in PIF’s attempt to acquire Newcastle United Football Club (NUFC).

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Let's Talk Sports Law - A Podcast by SLPRR By SLPRR ADMINMay 15, 2023