(CNN)An official with a leading human rights group says the Premier League will need to "re-examine the assurances made" about Saudi Arabian state involvement in Newcastle United after a court filing in the US named the club's chairman as "a sitting minister of the Saudi government."
The Premier League previously said it received "legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control Newcastle United" during the club's controversial takeover by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) in 2021.
The PIF is a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the man who a US intelligence report named as responsible for approving the operation that led to the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Bin Salman has denied involvement in Khashoggi's murder.
