The Premier League is considering making drastic changes to its owners' and directors' test, following the legal, ethical and moral implications that have arisen from the ongoing Saudi Arabia consortium takeover of Newcastle United.
Current owner Mike Ashley looks set to end his 13-year spell as the Magpies' chief, after agreeing to sell the club to Saudi's Public Investment Fund for around £300m. But the deal requires the Premier League's approval, and top-flight chiefs are under enormous pressure to consider several key factors before giving the green light.
But The Mail reports that despite concerns over Saudi Arabia's human rights laws, their piracy of the Premier League from Qatar-based BeIN Sports, and many other political factors, the deal is likely to be confirmed next week, allowing the new owners to take control of Newcastle.
But this saga has raised some serious questions within the league, after the poor framework of the owners' and directors' test left them incredibly exposed and unable to prevent the Saudi consortium from agreeing the deal.
Consequently, they are likely to revamp the test in order to protect themselves from such cases reoccurring in the future.
And it's not only the Premier League which is having doubts over Newcastle's new owners.
The Newcastle United Supporters Trust have committed to challenging the club's new owners, and they will raise any concerns they have over Saudi Arabia's human rights record, after the well-documented murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, reports BBC Sport.
"We exist to be a critical friend of the club, and hold them to account," said NUST chair Alex Hurst.
Although the Supporters Trust is determined to hold their owners to high standards, a poll which included more than 10,000 Newcastle supporters revealed that 96.7% of them were in favour of the takeover.
But NUST board member Greg Tomlinson stated that their excitement for Ashley's departure and the concerns over the new chiefs 'are not mutually exclusive.'
"It's not impossible to be excited about Mike Ashley's departure and still feel concerned about the [human rights] issues. Those feelings are not mutually exclusive."
Source : 90min