Thread by @NoSaudiToon

Newcastle United Fans Against Sportswashing - Statement on Qualification for Champions League
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“All the perfumes and money of Arabia will not sweeten this deal or wipe away their crimes."
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The fog of cognitive dissonance gets ever thicker on the Tyne. Newcastle United have qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. Chairman of the club, Yasir Al-Rumayyan appeared in a penalty shootout at halftime with the minority owners.

So much for the 'binding assurances' to the Premier League that the Saudi Public Investment fund (PIF) is separate from the Saudi state. Al-Rumayyan is a sitting Saudi minister and place-man of the Saudi regime’s chief dictator, Mohamed bin Salman.

How have we arrived at the situation where the bloody Saudi dictatorship feels confident enough to increasingly and blatantly exploit their ownership of our club for sportswashing purposes?

Let’s not kid ourselves that this is not happening. Sportswashing has been normalised at our club so much that the right-hand man of a dictator parades around the pitch in club colours.

Instead of factually reporting on who the Newcastle Chair, Al-Rumayyan & other regime figures associating themselves with the club really are and their roles in the dictatorship and yes, their crimes too, the @ChronicleLive has acted like a giant PR megaphone for the owners.

Critical groups like NUFCFAS had to fight for the right to get our voices heard. Families of victims of the Saudi regime wrote a letter to Eddie Howe appealing for him to speak up for their loved ones.
nufcfansagainstsportswashing.org.uk/letter-to-eddi…

NUFCFAS delivered the letter to Eddie. The letter was reported widely in the national press, yet the North East media ignored it.
dailymail.co.uk/sport/football…

North East politicians need to look at themselves in the mirror and ask, ‘have I done the job which I was elected to do?’ That job includes standing up for justice and human rights.
nufcfansagainstsportswashing.org.uk/campaign-again…

Pre-takeover, a North East Labour MP raised the issue of repression in Saudi Arabia, but since then, nothing, despite being contacted numerous times by NUFCFAS and Saudi human rights groups to speak up for the victims of the 80% owners.
nufcfansagainstsportswashing.org.uk/model-letter-t…

Finally, the official NUFC fan groups and fanzines have to shoulder a portion of the blame too. Pre-takeover, @nufctrust and @worflags said they would be critical friends to the new owners regarding human rights.
nufcfansagainstsportswashing.org.uk/an-alternative…

We are still waiting for the flag display in support of Saudi women, oppressed and jailed for decades by the same regime which owns 80% of our club. We are yet to see even one article in a #NUFC fanzine or a statement by NUST in solidarity with the young kids on death row.

NUFCFAS told Channel 4 News that “Newcastle can be a successful club without requiring the support of a murderous regime” and it is notable that half of the players who took to the field last night were Newcastle United players before the takeover.

Fabian Schar, Sean Longstaff, Elliot Anderson, Jacob Murphy, Miguel Almiron, Callum Wilson, and Allan Saint-Maximin all played last night, while Joe Willock, Joelinton and others also made big contributions over the course of the season.

What is the red line for the North East press, politicians, fanzines and fan groups? Now that it is ‘normal’ for a key regime figure to appear in black and white on our pitch, how long before the chief Saudi dictator, MBS turns up at a match? Would that be too much? Tell us!

Champions League qualification will put the spotlight on Newcastle United and the Saudi dictators who are using us even more. Fellow fans who think the end justifies the means may have to reconsider.

There is a growing movement around Europe after the Qatar World Cup against states owning football clubs and in favour of human rights. Newcastle fans will have to get used to criticism and hopefully will reflect on it.

We will continue to be a critical voice against the bloody dictatorship which owns #NUFC. We appeal to all our fellow fans to speak out about the gross human rights abuses committed by the 80% owners of our club and to oppose them using us to sportswash away their heinous crimes.

As lifelong Newcastle fans we love our club and region and we will not allow the temporary ownership of NUFC by the Saudi state to become normalised.
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nufcfansagainstsportswashing.org.uk/newcastle-unit…