![]() 'It's welcome that the principle that human rights abusers should not own Premier League clubs has been established, but the acid test of whether this new rule is fit for purpose is whether it would involve serious efforts to assess the involvement of prospective buyers in human rights abuses. 'Nearly three years ago we proposed a detailed new human rights-compliant test that would prohibit football ownership where individuals were complicit in acts of torture, slavery, human trafficking and war crimes. ![]() ![]() 'Merely checking whether people are on an existing UK sanctions list is a very low bar, and the sanctions list reflects the Government's foreign policy priorities rather than any objective assessment of human rights issues. ![]() 'Would, for instance, a future bid involving Saudi or Qatari sovereign wealth funds be blocked by this rule change? - it's far from clear that they would. 'We hope that Richard Masters will see that making football's ownership rules human rights-compliant can only be for the long-term good of the game.'Īnd in relation to Thursday's update, Peter Frankental, Amnesty International UK's Economic Affairs Director, told Sportsmail: 'It's a step in the right direction that human rights and hate crimes are now being considered, but it'll make little difference unless powerful individuals linked to serious human rights violations overseas are definitively barred from taking control of Premier League clubs and using them for state sportswashing. 'Football is a global sport on a global stage – it urgently needs to update its ownership rules to prevent those implicated in serious human rights violations from buying into the passion and glamour of English football. 'The way the Premier League waved this deal through raises a host of deeply troubling questions about sportswashing, about human rights and sport, and about the integrity of English football,' Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty UK's chief executive officer, said after the takeover in 2021. The Premier League has faced strong criticism in the past from Amnesty International for allowing Saudi's PIF to lead a takeover of Newcastle, despite the country's appalling human rights record. There will also be 'greater clarity and transparency' in the process of assessing and approving potential takeovers in the future.Įngland's top flight (pictured CEO Richard Masters) has toughened up its owners and directors' test League officials are also able to take actions against individuals involved in previous insolvencies 'in a wider range of circumstances'. The list of regulatory authorities has been increased, with suspensions from the Charity Commission, FCA, Prudential Conduct Authority, HMRC and Gambling Commission now resulting in disqualification. The Premier League has also extended the list of criminal offences resulting in disqualification to include offences involving violence, corruption, fraud, tax evasion and hate crimes. Those Disqualifying Events are subject to Government sanctioning of individuals/companies and human rights abuses based on Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020. Premier League chiefs have agreed new rules for owners to be disqualified over human rights abuses, amid controversy surrounding Newcastle's Saudi takeover in 2021Īt least 14 votes were required from the league's 20 clubs to make the necessary changes, which the Premier League confirmed in a statement on Thursday.Ī total of six key changes have been implemented as part of the shake-up, featuring a new range of 'Disqualifying Events' which have been added to the test.
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