Late last month, on April 27, the “Newcastle United Fans Against Sports Washing” Association organized a protest at Newcastle’s Bridge Hotel in the United Kingdom. They carried banners denouncing the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) attempt to sportwash his poor human rights record.
During the demonstration, the protesters shed light on the human rights violations committed against Saudi citizens who disagree with the Crown Prince’s policies and human rights advocates.
The protesters also condemned Saudi domestic financial corruption, calling it a form of human rights violations, referring to MBS’ lavish spending on sportswashing attempts at a time when the majority of Saudi citizens are facing exorbitant prices, high living expenses, high unemployment, and poverty rates.
The protest vigil coincided with a match between Newcastle United and Sheffield United, owned by “Saudi Prince” Abdullah bin Musaed Al Saud. The demonstrators handed out a statement to onlookers during the vigil, outlining their justifications for the protest and vigil. They stated, among other things, that “we continue to support our teams, but we do not support the money and policies of the Saudi regime.” They also stated that they had “launched a campaign against the Saudi dictatorship by using our club as a disbursement project.”
Members of the Association demanded the release of Salma Al-Shehab, one of the dissidents held in the Kingdom. Salma Al-Shehab was finishing her doctorate in Britain when she was arrested during a visit to “Saudi Arabia.” They took advantage of this event to highlight the restrictions faced by Saudi women in the alleged “openness” era that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has claimed.
In addition, the demonstration demanded the protection of those deemed victims of the Saudi dictatorship, since nine young men are in danger of being executed for “crimes” they committed as minors.
Protesters did not overlook to bring up the fact that the Saudi government carried out 173 executions in 2023 and 81 mass executions in 2022.
The protesters also expressed their concern for the future of sports in the nation in light of Saudi money’s influence by saying, “We cannot allow nation-states and regimes that violate human rights to seize football in our country in order to whitewash their tainted reputation.”
Writer and activist Andrew Feinstein, a former ANC MP and author of The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade, spoke at the vigil, saying that our football teams should not be used as puppets by ruthless and corrupt governments like Saudi Arabia, which has killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians in Yemen and still beheads and executes hundreds of its citizens annually in addition to repressing political expression and activism. We demand that the owners of our clubs kick these nations out.”
Notably, hundreds of students at the British University of Leeds called for the immediate release of Salma Al-Shehab, a Saudi doctorate student who was being prepared for her doctorate at the university when she was detained by Saudi authorities while on a visit to the country.
Vice-Chancellors Hai Swee Yeo and Alistair da Costa of the University of Leeds, along with 340 faculty members, students, and staff members, were also urged to publicly call on Saudi Arabia to free Al-Shehab, who was given a 27-year prison sentence and a 27-year travel ban under a Saudi counterterrorism law. She was accused of tweeting about things that “would disrupt public order” just because she advocated for Saudi Arabian prisoners’ rights to use Twitter.
