By Sean Fisher

31st Aug, 2023 | 7:00am

Sources: Newcastle United fear new Saudi investigation - points deduction reveal

Newcastle United are wary that they may face new complaints over their links to the Saudi Arabian state, sources have told Football Insider.

La Liga president Javier Tebas accused French side Paris Saint-Germain this week of ‘seriously distorting’ the market as a result of state aid from their ownership.

PSG have strong links to Qatar through their ownership group and Tebas has accused the club of being funded by state subsidies such as inflated sponsorship deals from Qatar entities.

Newcastle insist they are confident that they will avoid any possible sanctions and punishments after working to sever any ties between the club and the Saudi Arabian government.

But many still accuse the Tyneside club of being linked to the Saudi state through their Public Investment Fund ownership.

Newcastle are set to host two Saudi international fixtures at St James’ Park in September and have signed sponsorship deals with Saudi-based companies Noon and Sela within the last 12 months.

Those sponsorship deals were subject to fair market value assessments by the Premier League, but any accusations of ‘state aid’ would be dealt with by the newly-formed EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation.

Competition lawyer Alexander Rose told CityAM: “This new EU law provides a legal basis for football clubs in Europe that are concerned about the state financing of rivals to complain to the European Commission.”

Fellow Premier League side Man City are braced for any potential ‘state aid’ complaints amid their links to Abu Dhabi.

The Manchester side are confident they have received no funding from their ownership group within the statute of limitations.

In other news, Kieran Maguire: Newcastle United fans ‘should erect a statue’ of unsung takeover hero