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The changes, to apply with immediate effect,
were approved unanimously by England's top-flight clubs at a
shareholders meeting.
They come at a time when ownership of Premier League clubs is
under fresh scrutiny as bidders line up for Manchester United.
A consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF)
acquired Newcastle United in 2021 after assurances the Saudi
government would have no control of the north-east club.
Amnesty International has called the takeover "a clear attempt
by the Saudi authorities to sportswash their appalling human
rights record with the glamour of top-flight football."
A member of the Qatar royal family, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al
Thani, is fronting one of the groups seeking to buy Manchester
United from the Glazer family.
Qatar, which hosted the 2022 World Cup, has faced criticism for
its treatment of foreign workers, a ban on homosexuality and
curbs on political expression.
The Premier League said the new 'disqualifying event' for human
rights abuses was based on the Global Human Rights Sanctions
Regulations 2020.
It said the threshold for what constitutes control of a club
would be lowered from 30% to 25% and chief executives will be
brought within the scope of the test along with a new concept of
"relevant signatories".
New disqualifying events include individuals and/or companies
subject to government sanctions.
The list of criminal offences resulting in disqualification has
been extended to cover violence, corruption, fraud, tax evasion
and hate crimes.
The scope of insolvency provisions was also broadened to enable
the league to take action against individuals "involved in
previous insolvencies in a wider range of circumstances".
The Premier League promised greater clarity and transparency,
introducing also a new power "to stop those who wish to become
directors where they are under investigation for conduct that
would result in a disqualifying event if proven".
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris)
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