Amnesty International said the government was guilty of “flagrant omission” for failing to address human rights issues in its new football white paper.
The document, published on Thursday, promised that a new independent regulator would conduct rigorous checks on owners and directors of those seeking to take control of professional clubs in England.
However, it did not explicitly refer to the attention accorded to persons or entities associated with human rights abuses.
Amnesty urged the English Premier League to consider Saudi Arabia’s human rights record when the country’s Public Investment Fund bought a majority stake in Newcastle in 2021, and it reiterated that amid a bid by Qatar to buy Manchester United.
Sasha Deshmukh, Executive Director of Amnesty UK, said: “With growing concern about the potential for state-linked entities to force their way into English football for the purposes of laundering the sport, it has been disappointing that there has been insufficient consideration of the issues of human rights in the book. White — which seems, to say the least, a blatant omission.
“Football is at the heart of many people in this country and there is a real concern that there are no guarantees in the rules for existing owners and managers about those linked to human rights abuses abroad who can acquire historic English clubs.
“During the planned period of selective consultation on the role of the regulator, we hope that the need for human rights-compliant property rules will be accepted and that the mandate of the future regulator will include scrutiny of the human rights record of potential owners.
“There will still be months, if not years, before a regulator exists, so in the meantime, we continue to call on the Premier League to take the initiative and update its ownership rules to produce a test that could serve as a business model for a new regulator.”
Asked why the Human Rights White Paper did not mention it, Sports Minister Stuart Andrew responded directly, saying: “Obviously we will look at other regulators to see what mechanisms they are using.
“These are the kind of technical procedures that we will go through as we prepare for the legislation.”
Andrew was asked if the regulator would consider owners with ties to states or sovereign wealth funds, but he insisted he would not venture into foreign policy, saying that would remain the State Department’s purview.
“This will be very much directed at individuals who want to buy clubs or who run clubs,” he said.
The Premier League green-lighted a takeover by the Public Investment Fund of Newcastle in October 2021 after receiving legally binding assurances that Saudi Arabia would not control the club.
This means that no one with direct links to the Saudi state has been subjected to the testing of periodical owners and directors. The head of the Public Investment Fund is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The new organizer will be able to determine whether it considers anyone with a controlling interest in a club to have affiliations that would make them a ‘politically exposed person’, and can insert specific terms in that club’s license to account for that. He will also use his powers to determine who is the ultimate beneficiary of the club if this is not clear.
Sources close to Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani said that he is applying to acquire Manchester United on a private basis, without the support of the State of Qatar or any sovereign wealth fund or any other private individual.
It is understood he is quite comfortable with the idea of greater regulation in English football. Their main focus – should the takeover bid be successful – is on capital spending to improve Old Trafford, the club’s training facilities and refurbishment of the precinct around the stadium, rather than drastically increasing spending on transfer fees and player wages.
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