Newcastle United: Carabao Cup win and Saudi Arabia examined

One of the voices raising concerns is the Newcastle United Fans Against Sportswashing (NUFCFAS) group.

“Newcastle United’s victory will also be seen as a victory for the human rights-abusing regime and their sportswashing project,” the group said in a statement.

“We know that it should be a great day for the city of Newcastle, and many will feel that way, but for us it is unfortunately tainted by the ownership of the club.

“Silence on human rights is complicity in the crimes of the regime which owns our club. This is what sportswashing is all about.”

In addition to the financial backing from their owners, Newcastle won in a shirt sponsored by PIF-owned sports company Sela. Their sleeve sponsor was Noon – a PIF-backed retailer.

Sela handed out 32,000 scarves to fans at Wembley, bearing the club’s badge, the phrase ‘Howay the lads’ and the Sela logo.

It was also behind the beaming of giant images of star players onto London’s Millbank Tower on the eve of the final.

Those sort of promotional campaigns are no different to what any sponsor might do to raise their profile.

But critics point to Saudi Arabia facing years of criticism over subjects such as:

While campaigners acknowledge there have been important reforms in recent years, for example over women’s rights, they also point out there has been continued repression.

The takeover of Newcastle was approved in October 2021 after the Premier League received “legally binding assurances” the Saudi state would not control the club.

Newcastle have previously denied accusations of sportswashing, insisting the takeover was “not the Saudi state, it’s PIF”. They said the deal was about growing Newcastle.

John Hird, one of the founders of NUFCFAS, said he could “feel little joy” about Newcastle’s cup win.

“I was born a Toon fan. I remember my dad crying his eyes out after he came back from the Fairs Cup win in 1969. I still have the scrapbook of the cup run he made me,” said Hird.

“I and many other Newcastle fans were fans long before the Saudi state took over the club and we’ll still be fans long after they’ve been forced out, and we will have stayed true to our values and working-class traditions of solidarity.”