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“I have a terrible moral dilemma. My dream was to lose sight of our owner, who has collapsed the club. And now that new owners are coming in, it turns out to be a dictatorship, ”Norman Riley told the football podcast this week. True faith. Newcastle United, one of England’s traditional clubs, is negotiating to be bought by a consortium that includes Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a deal worth more than € 340 million. could turn the North East England club into one of the most powerful teams in the Premier League. Different actors, however, try to torpedo an agreement that generates moral debates among fans.

“No matter what happens, I will keep going to the stadium. I didn’t agree with Mike Ashley either. But I admit I’m worried about the arrival of the Saudis. I have a master’s degree in human rights and I can’t take kindly to these people. Now, at the same time, I wonder why the Premier League should not allow the arrival of Saudi capital, when it has already opened the door to money from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which are not very democratic, precisely, ”explains Riley , in reference to Mike Ashley, probably one of the most hated men in English football. Ashley is a self-made businessman who did not even finish high school, but who was able to build an empire in the world of sports products, especially tracksuits. His company Sports Direct has made him one of the 20 richest Britons while continuing to add complaints from workers and unions. These days, for example, he has been accused of forcing his employees to work despite covid-19, while raising the price of sports products he has sold using the services of distributors to whom he has reduced his salary.

In 2007 Ashley bought 41% of the shares in Newcastle. And within a few years, he was a majority shareholder in a club that had felt important again in the previous decade. Four-time league champion from 1905 to 1927, Newcastle managed to become runners-up in 1996 and 1997 and play in the Champions League, in which they were able to defeat teams such as Barça or Juventus, with players such as Shearer, Asprilla and Ginola. Ashley, however, bought a club that had hit the roof and was accumulating debt. And his management confronted him from day one with the fans, as he did not hide the fact that he wanted to resell the club to get rich. In a few months he saw the coach, Kevin Keegan, much loved by the fans. Over the last decade the club has suffered two relegations to Second, but has returned to First in the midst of a social crisis that led more than 14,000 fans to not want to renew the season ticket in an attempt to knock out an Ashley who he kept saying that he was negotiating to sell the club, but that he never found the buyer to get rich. Now it has arrived. And he, who passes the confinement in Florida, is already rubbing his hands imagining that he will be even richer.

More executions than ever

“The fans have been waiting for a new buyer to arrive for many years, with hope. But we did not imagine that the solution would be this “, says Riley. Just when the covid-19 crisis began it was discovered that Ashley was negotiating to sell the club to a Saudi consortium. Amnesty International has already warned the Premier League that it should not authorize the operation. Behind the PCP Capital Partners consortium is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is increasingly in charge, using sport to improve the overall position of his kingdom and clean up its image. This year, for example, he has already organized the Spanish and Italian Super Cups, as well as the Dakar. “The Premier League is risking becoming complicit in covering up an operation in which the Saudis want to use the glamor and prestige of football to cover up immoral actions that break international law,” recalls Amnesty International. In 2019 this state “executed 184 people, the highest figure recorded in a single year in a country since we collected data,” they say.

Qatar-based television channel BeIN Sport, which owns the rights to the Persian Gulf premier, has also come under pressure. He has repeatedly denounced that a website authorized by the Saudi government is illegally offering the Premier League to Saudi Arabia. Thus, the Saudis avoid having to hire a Qatar television at home, as these two states do not maintain diplomatic relations and are protagonists of the Yemen war.

The Premier League has not yet given final permission to close the deal. In 2017 the Premier adopted a new regulation to try to prevent their clubs from being bought by sources with a criminal record, the so-called Owner’s and director’s tests. In Newcastle, most fans seem to be in favor of closing the deal. In the rest of the clubs people are against it. Some for a moral issue and others to avoid having a neighbor richer than them.

Javier Tebas, president of the League, has been the protagonist of the virtual forum Adea, in which he has analyzed through a videoconference the strategies to follow to fight the pandemic. The leader explained the five phases for football to return to normal. “We are working on how to end this season and how to start next. We have several calendar scenarios. We are not currently putting them on the table because we are ruling out some possibilities. In case of cancellation of the League due to force majeure there is no there will be an expansion of teams, but there will be relegations. But I am sure that this season will be able to end, “he said.

“It is very likely that we will play behind closed doors until December. Then the return will be without crowds in the stands. This will financially affect the salary limits of the clubs and the transfer market,” Tebas opined.

The Eredivisie will be without a champion in the 2019/2020 edition and there will be no promotion or relegation. It is the final decision taken by the Dutch Football Federation after Prime Minister Mark Rutte implemented drastic measures and banned football matches, with or without the public, until September.

Ajax and AZ Alkmaar were tied at 56 points after 25 games, but the Amsterdam team dominated the standings with the best goal difference. The Federation’s decision will leave Frenkie de Jong’s team without a title.

The decision of the Eredivisie is the first to affect one of the major European leagues, although the first country to move tab was Belgium, which in early April already closed its league and declared champion the Bruges, which led the table by 15 points.

European football, divided on whether to end the leagues

The UEFA executive committee, which met online yesterday, approved guidelines on the eligibility of clubs to take part in next season’s European competitions. The agency again recommends “tightening” the end of the leagues, but provides for the possibility of finishing the competitions in a cut-out format if the calendar does not allow all days to be played. When there is an impossibility, remember that it will require the federations in question to select the sets based on sporting merits in the 2019-2020 campaign. In this sense, UEFA states that “the team selection procedure must be based on objective, transparent and non-discriminatory principles”. The body will therefore prioritize sporting merit and does not envisage the use of invitations.

The committee received updates from the various working groups established with the European Club Association (ECA), the leagues (EL) and FIFPro Europe. UEFA studied the two planned calendar scenarios. The first provides for domestic competition matches to be stepped up with European club competitions. The latter, on the other hand, expects league matches to end before UEFA’s resumption of commitments in August.

The Spanish government has informed the League that there will be no public in the stadiums until 2021 and that the opening of the stands will be gradual. The First and Second Division clubs, who will have to readjust their budgets, will summon the players on Tuesday to pass the coronavirus test. According to Cadena Ser, however, Health sources point out that these tests will not be able to be performed indiscriminately on all players.

UEFA also agreed to make an “immediate” payment of 70 million euros, to be distributed among the 676 clubs in the 55 member federations, as a contribution to national team competitions, in view of the current crisis and the financial difficulties that many clubs face in Europe. In a statement, the agency said it was expected that “these payments will be made after the end of the European qualifiers”, but will execute them “immediately” to alleviate the difficulties that the clubs have to to meet their financial commitments ”.

The Women’s European Championship, in 2022

Rumors had been circulating for days that it would happen, and yesterday it became official: UEFA is moving the celebration of the Women’s European Championship for a year, which will end up being played between 6 and 31 July 2022. The forecast was that will be played next summer in England, but the coincidence with the men’s European Championship and the Tokyo Olympics has meant that it is postponed for another year.

“We have carefully considered all the options, with our commitment to the growth of women’s football. With this move, we make sure that the competition is the only big football tournament of the summer, and in this way we will give it all the prominence it deserves, “said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. The body’s head of women’s football, Nadine Kessler, reaffirmed the decision. “It’s the best option,” he said.

Competitions completed

The Catalan Football Federation (FCF) decided yesterday to end all competitions in the 2019-2020 season that depend on its body in the modalities of football, indoor football and beach soccer, in accordance with the recommendation issued by the general secretariat of Sport and Physical Activity, at the proposal of the sectoral table of Sport in Catalonia. The federation will continue with the study and preparation of the economic program of freezing and temporary reduction of fees.

The Catalan Football Federation (FCF) has held this Thursday the online meeting of the board of directors for the month of April and has decided to end all competitions of the 2019-2020 season that depend on your body in the modalities of football , futsal and beach soccer, in accordance with the recommendation issued by the General Secretariat of Sport and Physical Activity, at the proposal of the sectoral table of Sport of Catalonia.

In addition, it will open a consultation between Catalan clubs in the coming weeks to find out their opinion on the conclusion of the championships, before adopting a subsequent resolution. The Federation will continue with the study and preparation of the economic program for the freezing and temporary reduction of federation fees to clubs and federates for the 2020-2021 season, as well as aid to the club’s treasury. The presentation of this package of compensatory measures will be made at the general assembly, and in the event that it cannot be held on the usual dates due to the situation due to covid-19, it will be announced prior to the start. of competitions.

The Catalan Basketball Federation (FCBQ), meanwhile, has ended this Thursday the competitions that are not senior or preferred for the 2019-2020 season.