The future of Olympique de Marseille interests almost as much on the Doha ledge as on the Canebière. Qatar, owner of PSG, is following very closely the various rumors of the acquisition of OM.
The first, concerning Al-Walid ben Talal, a month ago, was considered very serious in the upper echelons of the emirate. Just like the offer brought by the Franco-Tunisian Mohamed Ayachi Ajroudi and presented by Mourad Boudjellal at the end of last week. The Toulonnais spoke of "state funds that come from oil, water, energy", without more details so far. Contacted by us, the businessman refused to give any details on the identity and intentions of potential buyers: "It's the blackout, we're working".
In both cases, Qatar is convinced that it is the Saudi state and the powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman who are leading the files. "We have information on the fact that Saudi Arabia is trying by all means to enter football," said a source close to the gas emirate. Private investors act on commission, managers try to get behind front companies. "
OM rather than Newcastle?
Saudi Arabia tried to enter European football through the front door, with an official takeover offer of 80% of the Newcastle club for 330 million euros in mid-April. An offensive that sparked a strong reaction from the Qatari group BeIN Sports, through its general manager Youssef Al-Obaidly. The latter wrote a letter to Richard Masters, the boss of the Premier League, to express his opposition. "The involvement of the country's main sovereign wealth fund, which for almost three years has openly facilitated the largest and most sophisticated sport piracy operation ever seen - beoutQ - is of great concern to us," writes the leader.
The boss of BeIN details how the pirate network endangers the economy of his group and of English football from which he buys part of the TV rights gold price (more than 550 million euros per year). The World Trade Organization recently released a 125-page report, following a complaint from Qatar. It recognizes the role of the giant of the Gulf by reproaching it for having allowed the activities of the pirate chain to flourish on its territory.
In the process, Fifa has "asked Saudi Arabia to take the necessary measures to comply with its obligations in terms of intellectual property rights in order to protect legitimate rights holders and football itself" . The Premier League, which must validate (or not) the takeover of Newcastle, seems to hesitate. “In a perfect world, takeovers would happen cleanly, clearly and quickly. Sometimes it gets more complicated, "said Richard Masters to MPs.
The Gulf crisis on new ground
In France, the LFP also does not roll out the red carpet in Saudi Arabia. "The evidence provided by the LFP helped establish the responsibility of Saudi Arabia in the hacking operations of beoutQ", explained the proceedings on June 18 while indicating "having filed a complaint in France". The LFP claims to have "no element on the file" of buyout of OM but recalls that "whatever the investors, any takeover project must first be validated by the DNCG, under Braillard law".
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The trade battle should not mask the real antagonisms between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The emirate owner of PSG has been isolated by a blockade since 2017. Nicholas McGeehan, the director of the NGO FairSquare Projects dedicated to human rights, expert in the Gulf region deciphers: “Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have cut their diplomatic relations with Qatar. They threaten to invade the country and are doing everything to reduce its influence, mainly for political differences over their vision on how the Middle East should be governed. There is also a real personal antagonism between the monarchs. They don't like each other. Football has become another battleground to express this rivalry. "
The “Golfico” against Manchester City (owned by Abu Dhabi) in the Champions League in 2016, and the elimination experienced as a humiliation at the top of the Qatari state, illustrates the challenges in terms of prestige and pride. "PSG is a crown jewel for Qatar and the country uses this club very effectively on a political level," recalls the Scottish researcher. The last thing he wants is to see their biggest rival club taken over by their biggest and oldest rival country. I can understand why the Saudis want to get involved and why the Qataris are against it. "
Human rights at the center of concerns
Nicholas McGeehan was recently quoted by the director of information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar for his positions on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia. A somewhat ironic situation since the researcher has repeatedly pinpointed the attacks on immigrant workers in the host country of the world 2022.
Behind the scenes, Qataris also draw attention to this aspect, after having themselves been publicly accused by their enemies in the region of supporting terrorism. Despite the hundreds of workers killed on Qatari construction sites for the 2022 World Cup, "the human rights situation is much worse in Saudi Arabia than in Qatar in many respects," said the researcher.
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To the point that Amnesty International alerted the Premier League to the situation in the country, as part of the project in Newcastle. Katia Roux, advocacy officer for Amnesty International, describes a "catastrophic" situation: "All fundamental freedoms are violated. Most human rights defenders are behind bars or in exile. "
The powerful NGO does not intend to take an official position on an investment project in France, but warns about its sources: “We do not want the communication strategy to come and hide everything that is going on. Today, when we talk about Saudi Arabia, we think of the Dakar, the G20 that it chairs this year. It feels like a country opening up. Reforms have been taken, notably for women's rights, we do not deny this. But a month before the driving ban was lifted, activists who had been fighting for years were arrested and some were still in prison and had been subjected to sexual assault and torture. It is important to show this double picture there, so that the Saudi authorities do not feel all powerful. "
In England, the warning messages did not prevent 97% of Newcastle supporters from being favorable to the recovery plan. And in Marseilles the possible amount of a future transfer window is more at the heart of the discussions than the murder of the journalist Jamal Kashoggi for which Mohammed ben Salmane was designated as responsible by Turkish and American leaders.
