The league’s statement suggested it is now apparently satisfied that the P.I.F. — chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia — is entirely separate from the Saudi state, where Salman is deputy prime minister, minister of defense and widely regarded as the country’s de facto ruler.
Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the P.I.F., will serve as Newcastle’s nonexecutive chairman, with Amanda Staveley, a British businesswoman, and Jamie Reuben, a billionaire property investor, also sitting on the club’s newly constituted board.
All directors of Premier League clubs are subjected to a background check, designed to make sure they are suitable custodians of what are often beloved civic institutions.
A number of human rights organizations have made their objections to the deal plain, with Amnesty International calling on the Premier League to change the rules of its owners and directors’ test to ensure that those accused of human rights violations cannot take charge of soccer teams.
“Ever since this deal was first talked about we said it represented a clear attempt by the Saudi authorities to sportswash their appalling human rights record with the glamour of top-flight football,” said Sacha Deshmukh, the organization’s chief executive in Britain.
“Under Mohammed bin Salman, the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia remains dire — with government critics, women’s rights campaigners, Shia activists and human defenders still being harassed and jailed, often after blatantly unfair trials.”