by It was fascinating to watch the conversation unfold. At the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire in the summer of 2022, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer had to take a stand on whether he was “accepting blood money” through his relationship with LIV Golf. Household names in European golf sat on a podium – uncomfortably – and had to defend their faults on a tour funded by Saudi Arabia.
The same problems befell St James’ Park when the Saudi Public Investment Fund bought a controlling stake in the club in late 2021. As fans booed and mourned the curtailment of the Mike Ashley era, there was discomfort elsewhere at a British sporting institution. which fell under. under the spell of an autocratic regime closely linked to the butchery of Jamal Khashoggi.
Jon Rahm appeared under the LIV branding last month. If you scratched really hard, you might find an analysis of what the Masters champion’s exorbitant action meant in moral terms. Last June, the PGA and DP World Tours announced that they would kiss and make up with the Saudis; financial need rather than some mutual estoppel. With this news, golf seemed to have made a collective decision that Rahm or anyone else who takes the Saudi dollar could do so with a clear conscience.
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The PGA Tour is working hard to finalize an agreement with the PIF that will allow marquee events to feature Rahm et al again. If a major golf plan falls through, LIV will continue to stand profitably against the status quo. It is the story of sports and business; Human rights, once the automatic point of reference for everything in Saudi Arabia, are hardly an afterthought. Golfers can sort out the source of their payday in their own minds but they are no longer publicly examining the same.
In Newcastle, the discourse surrounds whether Eddie Howe can keep his job or whether an injury crisis and the demands of Champions League football mean the manager has legitimate extenuating circumstances for 10th place in the Premier League. Just as well for Howe he is not dealing with ruthless lords. Newcastle fans are understandably frustrated that financial balance rules prevent the club from spending more money on players. The Saudis can’t even get around that.
Rafael Nadal has agreed to become an ambassador for the Saudi Arabian tennis federation. The inaugural Riyadh Season World Snooker Masters will take place in March. Snooker halls are likely to spring up across the kingdom at the same time. Back in golf, the R&A has confirmed that there are talks about funding projects in the kingdom with the clear subtext that if success is in the offing, the governing body would like a piece. Jordan Henderson’s move to Ajax for the Saudi Pro League was an embarrassment – as well as an even bigger embarrassment for the England midfielder – but this will pale into insignificance when the next big name breaks the £30m-a-year mark . The 2034 World Cup seems safe, by which time a teenager sentenced to 18 years for supporting political prisoners will have more than a third of her sentence left to serve.
Recent days have been another timely reminder of just what sport can be. Not only is it linked to Saudi Arabia but in some cases it is seen. It is estimated that Saudi Arabia spent more than $6bn on sports markets. This always looked a dangerous dance.
Yasir al-Rumayyan is the chairman of Newcastle United. He is the man who almost single-handedly revolutionized elite golf through a decision that the PIF of Arabia could take on the establishment. Rumayyan is also said to be facing a £58m lawsuit in Canada for having “directed” the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, with “malicious intent”. The money is irrelevant; The reputational cost of umpteen sports is not the same in this case.
LIV and Newcastle have referred questions about the matter to PIF, who have so far had nothing to say. The claims allege that Rumayyan acted with the aim of “harming, silencing and ultimately destroying” the family of Dr Saad Aljabri, the kingdom’s former intelligence chief. The claimants alleged that Rumayyan had a “direct role” in a campaign that lasted more than three years against Aljabri. This is hardly toy house stuff. It’s not surprising either; even recently claimed that the golden egg of the goose sport seemed likely to attract hatchlings for all the wrong reasons. If people were willing enough to pay attention, of course.
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The Premier League insisted it had “legally binding assurances” that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia would not control Newcastle. Before peace began in golf, the Saudis insisted that Rumayyan and the fund he controls should be spared from testifying during legal wrangling on the basis of sovereign immunity. Eyebrows were raised among some clubs in the Premier League but, true to form, the matter essentially disappeared. We focus on VAR.
The website reprieve.org reports that at least 172 people will be executed in Saudi Arabia in 2023. Is this a fair trade for sporting prowess? Amnesty International continues to express concern. The head of the UK’s priority and individuals at risk campaign, Felix Jakens, says: “If the Saudi sports-washing scandal is to mean that human rights considerations have taken a back seat to the signatures big and the most famous recent events, is our assessment. that this is a fairly volatile situation and the pendulum can swing back quickly.
“We have recently seen disturbing reports of the alleged involvement of the chairman of Newcastle United and LIV Golf in serious human rights violations, which are currently being investigated. Beneath the glitz of sports photographs and carefully managed events in Riyadh and elsewhere, the country’s human rights record remains dire. With the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia continuing to deteriorate, it is certainly no coincidence that the Saudi sports washing machine has been operating at higher levels of intensity recently.”
Aha, sports laundry. It was once a living thing. Given Rumayyan’s latest turn in the spotlight it might be wise to look the other way. Maybe the sport is too deep.
