Manchester United fans and rights groups raise fears over Qatar-led ownership bid

theguardian.com:

A Qatar-led bid to take over Manchester United should not be entertained because of concerns about state influence and human rights abuses in the country, rights groups say.

Fears about an offer to buy the club have been raised by Amnesty International’s Manchester branch, which said it had been contacted by fans who were very worried by the news.

LGBTQ+ fan club the Rainbow Devils said it had deep concern about the bid, while FairSquare, a human rights group, has written to Uefa urging it to block a Qatar-led takeover.

The offer to buy the football club was revealed on Friday, with the bidder – Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, the chairman of one of Qatar’s biggest banks and son of the former prime minister – saying he wanted to “return the club to its former glories”.

Manchester United is being sold by owners the Glazer family, who are thought to have received several offers of about $5bn (£4.5bn). Other bidders include British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, owner of chemicals group Ineos, and Elliott, a US-based investment management company. Prospective buyers had a “soft deadline” of Friday to table their interest.

Qatar, which hosted the World Cup last year, has faced widespread criticism over human rights, including its treatment of migrant workers and of LGBTQ+ rights. During preparations for the World Cup, reports of worker abuse were widespread. Homosexuality in Qatar is illegal.

Cass Hyde of the Rainbow Devils said it wished to remain “diplomatic” in order to have a relationship with the owners, whoever they were. But she said there was no denying that Qatar’s record on LGBTQ+ rights was “genuinely dreadful”, which she said was of “massive concern”.

The group is planning a survey of its members in the coming days