A government minister has stressed that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia would only have to undergo the independent football regulator's owners' and directors' test if there were 'grounds for concern'.
Baroness Twycross, the parliamentary under-secretary of state at the department for culture, media and sport, is overseeing the passing of the football governance bill, which will establish the independent football regulator. During the fifth day of the committee stage debate on the bill, in the House of Lords, Lord Moynihan asked the minister whether the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, would be subject to an 'ownership test'.
Although the [Premier League](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/all-about/barclays-premier-league) previously received legally-binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would not control [Newcastle United](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/all-about/newcastle-united-fc), after the PIF bought a majority stake in the club in 2021, Baroness Twycross replied yes and said 'any owner, with state backing or otherwise, will be assessed against the same set of criteria as any other prospective owner'. However, the minister later moved to clarify her response.
"An incumbent individual simply meeting the definition, including if they exert significant influence or control, does not mean that the regulator is required or _obliged_ to test them," she said. "It may test an incumbent owner if there are grounds for concern about their suitability. The criteria for suitability are clearly set out in the bill. This applies to any type of owner, be it a state owner or otherwise.
"The key point I must stress - it goes for Newcastle United or any other club although as someone who lived for a number of years in Newcastle, I am particularly keen to reassure Geordies - is that the regulator will be operationally independent of government. It is not for the government to prejudge the regulator’s assessment of who meets the definition of owner, whether there is concern about a particular owner or the outcome if the regulator tests a particular owner.
"Finally, I want to reassure your lordships’ committee that this government are unashamedly pro-investment, which will drive our growth mission. We want good, long-term investors into the UK, and foreign investment is key to this."
Baroness Twycross' comments, highlighting the independence of the regulator from the government, come just a week-and-a-half after Prime Minister Keir Starmer met the Crown Prince in Riyadh. Sir Keir invited the Crown Prince to the UK and 'hoped the leaders would be able to watch a game of football in between meetings'.