‘We don’t know what criteria or hurdles the Saudis had to jump through to get into this country’
Gary Neville has suggested that he would be ‘amazed’ if the Saudi Media Group are allowed to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.
On Monday, it was reported that Chelsea were the subject of a £2.7bn offer from Saudi Media Group, which is fronted by Mohamen Alkhereiji, a Chelsea supporter and CEO of Saudi Media’s parent company, Engineer Holding Group, which was founded by his father, Abdulelah Alkhereiji.
However, former Manchester United defender Neville has claimed that he would be surprised if the Saudi company was able to purchase the London club, given events that have occurred in recent days.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: “I would be amazed if that Saudi Media company was allowed to buy Chelsea Football Club off the back of what has happened.
“I do think there’s something absolutely coming on top very quickly when it comes to fit-and-proper-person tests, it’s not resilient, it’s not independent, it’s no transparent.
“We don’t know what criteria or hurdles the Saudis had to jump through to get into this country, and I was supportive of them coming in, even though I would probably reassess that at this moment after what’s happened in the last 10 days.”
🗣 "I would be amazed if that Saudi media company was allowed to buy Chelsea off the back of what's happened."@Carra23 questions @GNev2 on whether the Premier League should allow Chelsea to be owned by a Saudi Arabian group similar to Newcastle pic.twitter.com/XnLyBTvUZi
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 14, 2022
Saudi state media reported on Saturday that 81 men had been put to death for crimes ranging from killings to alleged ties with terrorist organisations – the largest mass execution in Saudi’s modern history.
The Saudi Press Agency [SPA] also reported that 37 Saudi nationals were amongst those put to death after being found guilty in a single case for attempting to assassinate security officers and targeting police stations and convoys.
SPA also state that the group had been tried by 13 judges and gone through a three-stage judicial process.
Neville also expects stricter rules and regulations to be put into place in order to more closely scrutinise potential owners.
He added: “Football has got a big problem because I don’t think it’s going to be accepted anymore,” he added.
“I think there will be an independent regulator put into football.
“Super League, Saudi money, Russian money, Bury, Derby, lack of sustainability, lack of real-time financial monitoring, lack of fit and proper person tests… football is absolutely coming under huge scrutiny.
“It isn’t just a football problem, but football is a massive part of this country’s fabric and it’s going to be an issue in the next couple of years.
“I suspect if you’re Abu Dhabi in Manchester, if you’re Saudi Arabia in Newcastle, you’re going to be doing your risk assessments as we speak, thinking ‘What’s going to happen?'”
Related links:
- Saudi consortium make £2.7bn bid to buy Chelsea
- Amnesty International urges Eddie Howe to speak out on Saudi ownership
- Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta considering Chelsea bid
