London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

UK sports minister says relationship with Saudi Arabia is ‘really important’

UK sports minister says relationship with Saudi Arabia is ‘really important’

Nigel Huddleston’s comments could encourage a Saudi bid for Chelsea and he emphasised Russia is likely to remain a sporting ‘pariah’ for some time

The UK sports minister has emphasised the importance of the country’s close ties with Saudi Arabia as concerns about the Gulf Kingdom’s dismal human rights record raise awkward questions as to whether its Public Investment Fund (PIF) should have been allowed to buy Newcastle United.

Nigel Huddleston’s comments to the digital, culture, media and sport select committee on Tuesday may have offered Saudi Media, one of several companies reportedly interested in purchasing Chelsea, tacit encouragement.

“The UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is really important,” said Huddleston, who maintained the decision to allow PIF to purchase Newcastle was made solely by the Premier League and remained independent of a government he said was unafraid to serve as critical friends of their counterparts in Riyadh.

“Saudi Arabia is an important partner of the UK in investment, intelligence and culture. We welcome Saudi Arabian investment. Many, many jobs in the UK are dependent on our relationship with the Saudis but we take the opportunity to talk frankly and openly with Saudi Arabia. We can have frank exchanges because of the nature of our relationship.”

Nonetheless, Huddleston said the sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich by the government and Premier League in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Chelsea owner’s ties to Vladimir Putin had raised the moral bar when it comes to takeovers.

“There is a need for a far more robust Premier League owners’ and directors’ test,” said Huddleston. “The integrity element of that is something that’s being pushed.”

Although he would not divulge any government plans to implement Tracey Crouch’s fan-led review of the game, Huddleston made clear he broadly endorsed it. “We are at a turning point in English football,” he said. “We recognise there are failures in the structure and governance of English football and the fan-led review is pivotally important because it will contain an independent regulator.”

Helen MacNamara, the Premier League’s director of policy and corporate affairs, said England’s top-tier clubs did not want a statutory independent regulator and pointed out there had been no owners’ and directors’ test when Abramovich bought Chelsea.

“We already have an independent panel, chaired by a QC who oversees our sanctioning regime, and we’re in the process of putting together an independent panel that will support the Premier League board and scrutinise their decision-making on the owners’ and directors’ test,” she said.

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev faces possible exclusion from Wimbledon in 2022.


Huddleston expects Russia to remain a global sporting “pariah” for some time. The country’s football clubs and national teams have been suspended from all competitions by Fifa and Uefa, and Daniil Medvedev, the world No 1 men’s tennis player, is facing exclusion from key tournaments, Wimbledon included.

“As long as Russia continues to be a pariah on the world stage, those sanctions will last,” said Huddleston as the court of arbitration for sport upheld Uefa’s ban on Russian teams as it continues to deliberate on the matter. “The reasons these sporting sanctions matter is because Putin loves nothing better than wrapping himself in the flag and putting himself on the world stage.

“I think it’s going to be quite a while before we accept Russia back on to the world sporting stage. I think we can manage perfectly well without Russian investment. I don’t think welcoming it at the moment is morally acceptable.”

Asked whether Medvedev would be allowed to compete at Wimbledon this year, Huddleston said he was “in discussions” with the All England Club regarding Russian players. “Absolutely no one flying the Russian flag should be allowed or enabled,” he said. “We need assurances they’re not supporters of Vladimir Putin. There are also visa implications.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×