Premier League has now tightened its ownership rules which will disqualify anyone found to have committed any human right abuses.
Human Right Abuses is now a new “disqualifying event” in the Premier League in line with the UK Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulation.
The sanctions will also be extended to any individual that is subject to the UK government.
And these sanctions have taken effect immediately.
Also, the list of criminal offenses that will disqualify a player from the Premier League has also been updated to include offences like violence, corruption, fraud, tax evasion, and hate crimes.
It has the authority to also prevent someone from applying to be a club director if they are being investigated for an offense that if found guilty, will restrain them from holding the said position.
Human Rights Organization named Amnesty International have praised the measure as “a start in the right direction,” but also warned that if the sanctions are not properly implemented, the Premier League might still be a “sportswashing toy.”
Tracey Crouch, Conservative MP, former UK’s Sports Minister between 2017-2017, said that these changes were mere “smoke and mirrors.”
The new regulations, which were agreed upon at a meeting held by shareholders on Thursday took effect while several Premier League clubs’ ownership was being investigated.
One of the bidders of Manchester United, Sheikh Jassim, a banker from Qatar has alarmed LGBTQ+ and human rights organizations.
It has also been noted that his native country Qatar are fond of mistreating migrant workers and gay acts are forbidden in the country.
If a gay is caught in Qatar, the penalty could be fining, receiving a prison term of up to seven years, and even being stoned to death.
Futballnews understands that Jassim does not believe the strengthened test will stop him from buying Manchester United because he comes as a private individual.
Amnesty International earlier this months stated that the Premier League “needs to re-examine the assurances” it was given about the Newcastle owners from Saudi Arabia.
Premier League approved the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) Newcastle takeover after receiving “legally binding assurances” that the Saudi government would not have any control over the club.
Richard Masters, Premier League Chief Executive on Tuesday stated that he could not comment on whether the league was investigating who has control over Newcastle and also the club’s Saudi takeover.
“[The] Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations are already the law of the land so this is nothing new,” said Crouch in response to the Premier League’s announcement.
“Improvement always welcome but still don’t go as far as white paper.”
Peter Frankental, Director of the Amnesty UK’s economic affairs, added: “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.”
“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.”
