Pardew froze out Ben Arfa late last season after a couple of dressing-room confrontations.
Alan Pardew: “It would have been an easy decision to keep him.
“But you have to make tough decisions, and I made the decision because I think the players we have here have a love and a passion for the club, the shirt and for the fans.
“They want to win for them, and that’s very important in the modern game.
“Both the players released on the last day (Ben Arfa and Yanga-Mbiwa) were not regulars for this team.”
“I don’t know (if Ben Arfa had “love and passion” for Newcastle) – I’m only talking about the players who are still here.
“I’ve never been openly critical of players who have been here in the past in any shape or form. That’s for other people to decide.
“But what I do know is that this group, and that’s all I’m talking about now, have a real love and passion for the club.
"It is not a risk to let Ben Arfa join Hull, not in my opinion.”