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Former Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce believes it is 'difficult' for Premier League to allow £300m Saudi takeover of the club due to TV piracy which he says has seen 350 people sacked from Qatar-based beIN Sports

Sam Allardyce has questioned the right of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund to take over at Newcastle after witnessing the devastating impact of TV piracy operations in the Middle East.

The Premier League are expected to approve the £300million deal after weeks of deliberation but Allardyce, who was manager at St James' Park for eight months from May 2007, said, 'in the bigger picture you have to say, is it right?'

He is a regular pundit on beIN Sports, global broadcasters based in Doha, in Qatar, who have been among those hit hardest by the illegal streaming from Saudi Arabia have cut staff by a third over the last 12 months.