The Premier League may soon regret allowing the takeover, writes Joe McCarthy, while Michael McCarthy says it shows how little power fans have. Michael Herron believes money has rotted the game and Dr Chris Haughton suggests a visit to Saudi Arabia by the Toon Army
Barney Ronay is right that “English football has reached a particular kind of extreme” by agreeing to the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United (Newcastle’s Saudi takeover will cause faux morality of football to collapse, 7 October). The Premier League, in its consideration of the Saudi purchase, has reportedly seen basic human rights and TV piracy with a bizarre equivalence. However, once the piracy issue was resolved, the deal was given the go-ahead.
Most ordinary people have higher moral standards than the rich and powerful. Normally the rich are very good at navigating this dilemma and don’t rub their immorality too much in the faces of the rest of us. But the Premier League has got this one wrong. Amnesty has already condemned the takeover. By allowing the arrival of Mohammed bin Salman into football’s “billionaire boys’ club”, the football authorities have drawn much attention to the amoral ownership model of some of England’s biggest clubs. They may soon regret it.
Joe McCarthy
Dublin, Ireland