A GROUP OF Newcastle fans have demanded Yasir Al-Rumayyan resigns after the Magpies chairman was hit by a £59million lawsuit accusing him of waging a “malicious” campaign against a dissident former Saudi spy chief.
Former intelligence officer Dr Saad Aljabri claims Al-Rumayyan acted under the direct instructions of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in a bid to “destroy” him.
Legal papers lodged in Canada have asked Al-Rumayyan to be added to an ongoing case in a move that puts Newcastle’s Saudi takeover back under the spotlight.
And ‘NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing’ have called on Premier League boss Richard Masters to review the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) £300million purchase of Newcastle in 2021.
They said: “Revelations about the chairman in Canadian court papers were always going to come out eventually.
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“The Premier League allowed our club to be bought by one of the bloodiest, human rights abusing regimes in the world.
“Surely Richard Masters has to review the takeover decision? (He’s) not at all excellent…Resign!”
Al-Rumayyan is the governor of PIF, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund that bought an 80 per cent stake in Newcastle from Mike Ashley in October 2021.
The Prem approved the takeover after receiving what they described as “legally binding assurances” that the Saudi state would not be in charge.
Mohammed Bin Salman is the chairman of the board of PIF, and Prem chief Masters said following the takeover that they could be kicked out of Newcastle should they be found to control the club.
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He said: “There are legally-binding assurances that the state will not be in control.
“If we find evidence to the contrary we can remove the consortium as owners of the club in accordance with the rules. That is understood.”
And ‘NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing’ added: “The idea that the Saudi state does not own Newcastle United has been shown again to be ludicrous.
“The fact that Al-Rumayyan follows MBS' orders means the Premier League needs to review the decision to allow the Saudi dictatorship to own our football club.
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“The serious accusations being made against Newcastle’s chairman are a consequence of the Premier League allowing the Saudi dictatorship to take over our club.”
Legal papers are believed to have been served to Al-Rumayyan at multiple locations including Toon’s St James’ Park.
Former spy chief Aljabri is a former top aide to Prince Mohammed bin Nayef who was deposed by Bin Salman in a palace coup back in 2017.
He fled his homeland and has been accused of embezzling hundreds of millions of pounds of state funds, claims he strongly denies.
And Aljabri alleges Al-Rumayyan was one of the people behind a campaign which included “wrongful kidnapping and detention” and “misappropriation of property”.
Aljabri previously claimed a six-man Saudi “hit squad” had been dispatched to murder him in Canada, while his son and daughter were arrested at their Riyadh home in 2020 and jailed on charges including financial crime.
