An anti-sportswashing fan group has called for the Football Association to block the proposed game between Saudi Arabia and Mexico due to be played at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park.
The emergence of talks regarding the friendly followed an official announcement that the club’s new away kit would be a very similar green to that of the national team jersey of Saudi Arabia.
The country’s Public Investment Fund purchased Newcastle in October 2021 and campaigners NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing (NUFCFAS) claim the latest developments are “the final nail in the coffin in the idea that PIF’s ownership of Newcastle United isn’t about promoting Saudi Arabia to the world”.
The FA has to give approval for international matches to take place in English stadiums and one of the NUFCFAS founders has told i that the governing body should not give clearance for the Saudi-Mexico game, scheduled for September.
A clear strategic alignment to the Gulf state has been evident since the takeover and Newcastle’s chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone has said they intend to make Newcastle the best-supported club in Saudi Arabia.
Newcastle have scheduled warm-weather training camps in Riyad, Saudi dignitaries are increasingly present at matches and the club signed a major £25m-per-year front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with Sela, a Saudi events company also owned by PIF.
i revealed on Wednesday the Premier League is set to green-light the contract after assessing to ensure its valuation is not overinflated.
“The fact the Saudi government have announced two months in advance that they are in negotiations to play an international at St James’ Park shows they are still wary of a backlash about them using Newcastle as a propaganda tool for their regime,” NUFCFAS founder John Hird said.
“At the time of the takeover, all those who went along with it claimed the PIF was completely separate from the Saudi state. Yet since then, Newcastle chair Yasir al-Rumayyan has publicly admitted in US court papers he is a minister in the government and was embarrassingly addressed as ‘Your Excellency’ in an interview in a club video. The Newcastle chair is a leading figure in one of the most repressive regimes in the world and also participated in a kick-around on the pitch at St James’ Park in our club colours.
“Other regime figures are publicly associating themselves with the club, including the younger brother and ‘consigliere’ of Saudi Arabia’s chief dictator Mohammed bin Salman who attended the League Cup final wearing a Newcastle scarf.
“The match at St James’ Park could be a bridge too far for many fans who are starting to see how blatantly the Saudi regime is exploiting their ownership of our club for sportswashing purposes.
“NUFCFAS calls on the FA not to allow the match to go ahead and we also urge the Premier League to publish the so called ‘legally binding assurances’ that the Saudi state would not be in charge of our club, as clearly they have been broken. Which regime figures would turn up at SJP if the international went ahead? MbS? If the match is not called off NUFCFAS will call on fans to protest inside and outside the ground against Saudi regime sportswashing and in solidarity with their many victims in Saudi Arabia.”
Another NUFCFAS spokesperson said: “This is the final nail in the coffin in the idea that PIF’s ownership of Newcastle United isn’t about promoting Saudi Arabia to the world. Our football club is being used as a billboard for one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes.
“Human rights abusing states shouldn’t own football clubs. It would be a disgrace and a stain on the city of Newcastle’s reputation if this match goes ahead.”
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