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Topics: Manchester United, Football, Premier League
Chris Byfield
Premier League clubs have agreed to tougher rules around ownership, with the changes coinciding with the ongoing sale of Manchester United.
The Premier League has agreed to toughen its Owners' and Directors' test, introducing a number of "disqualifying events" for prospective owners and directors - including "human rights abuses, based on Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020".
Clubs unanimously approved a number of changes to the assessment process around ownership, which will come into immediate effect.
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In a statement released on Thursday, the Premier League also confirmed that "annual due diligence" will be undertaken on current club owners and directors to "ensure ongoing compliance" with the rules.
However, there was no mention of state ownership in the new rules.
Qatari investor Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jaber Al-Thani, who placed a world record offer for United last week, has insisted his bid to buy the Premier League club is through his Nine Two Foundation and is not connected to the Qatari state.
Amnesty International has repeatedly criticised Qatar's human rights record - particularly in the build-up to, and following, the 2022 World Cup, which was staged in the Gulf nation.
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Amnesty International also called on the Premier League to consider Saudi Arabia's human rights record when the country's Public Investment Fund took a controlling stake in Newcastle United in 2021.
Meanwhile, Manchester City's ownership has also faced scrutiny with the club owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi and the newly-promoted vice-president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - another nation which has been criticised by Amnesty International for its poor human rights record.
However, The Times journalist Martyn Ziegler claims it is unlikely that the owners of Manchester City or Newcastle would be impacted by the new Premier League rules.
Ziegler tweeted: "From what I can see this would not affect Saudi's Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman, Qatar's or UAE rulers as they are not on the UK government's list of people sanctioned for human rights abuses."