Osama's kin to buy Newcastle football club

FAN FURY: For the fans it is not important that Osama was disowned by his family before 9/11.

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London: Proposed plans to sell the football club, Newcastle United, to the family of al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, have been met with shock, dismay and disgust by fans of the club.

The Bin Ladens, who own a Saudi Arabian building firm, plan to hand over £300 million for the Premier League giants to owner Mike Ashley, an English tabloid reported.

It is expected that millions more would be spent on retail and leisure developments near St James' Park. Representatives have already been in the city for talks and to check out potential sites.

Frank Gilmour, of the Independent Newcastle United Supporters' Association, said: "It's disgusting, an absolute joke. But it's up to Mike Ashley. Will he really be prepared to sell the club to the family of a terrorist?"

A plumber and a football fan, 37-year-old Joseph Currey, described the proposed development as "ridiculous", and accused Ashley of selling out while promoting himself as a Newcastle fan.

PR executive Andy Walton of Gateshead, a season ticket holder, said: "I'm shocked to the core. I can't believe we could be sold to a company with terrorist links."

Ashley bought Newcastle from Freddy Shepherd last year for £137 million. It was reported last week how Ashley quoted £420 million when approached by New York finance firm InterMedia Partners.

For the fans, however, it is no consequence that Osama Bin Laden was disowned by his family before 9/11.