Derby County: Independent football regulator faces 'defining test' over potential Rams investment

English football’s independent regulator faces a “defining test” as Saudi Arabian government official Turki Al-Sheikh attempts to invest in Derby County, says Amnesty International.

Al-Sheikh, who has previously owned football clubs in Spain and Egypt and is now among the most powerful figures in world boxing, is looking to buy a stake in the Championship side.

As chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority – and someone who is a prominent figure in the close circle of the country’s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman – 44-year-old Al-Sheikh has been criticised by human rights groups for his role in alleged ‘sportswashing’ by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of using sport and culture to improve its reputation and to distract from the nation’s poor human rights record, treatment of women, use of the death penalty and its anti-LGBT stance.

Al-Sheikh will need approval from the independent football regulator (IFR) – a body that was formed only last year to safeguard the future and integrity of the game.

The IFR has establish a new owners, directors and senior executives test, taking over the responsibility previously held by English Football League when it came to new investment in Championship sides.

Both bodies, as well as Derby County, have declined to comment on Al-Sheikh’s interest in the Championship side when contacted by the BBC, as have Al-Sheikh’s representatives.

“This is a defining test for English football’s new independent regulator,” said Felix Jakens, head of campaigns at human rights group Amnesty International UK.

“Will it allow a senior representative of a government directly implicated in mass human rights violations to take control of one of the country’s oldest football clubs? The regulator must ask these questions and answer them transparently.”

With Premier League side Newcastle United already owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Amnesty International said any stake bought by Al-Sheikh “would mark a significant expansion of Saudi Arabia’s footprint in English football”.

Amnesty say 356 people were executed in Saudi Arabia last year – a new record which has been condemned by human rights groups.

“The serious questions surrounding Saudi involvement in sport anywhere in the world are just as relevant here,” said Jakens.

“Al-Sheikh is not a private businessman. He is the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority., external“