Newcastle United matches in the Premier League turned into weekly protests against human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
For the third week in a row, English fans raised banners against the Saudi presence in the English Premier League. Others described Mohammed bin Salman as the murderous criminal during a Newcastle match.
Protests have been escalating in separate English stadiums since the announcement of the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s acquisition of 80% of Newcastle United’s shares, despite widespread human rights protests over the deal, which amounted to 305 million pounds.
Private sources said that the English police arrested many Brighton fans while hosting Newcastle club in the eleventh week of the English Premier League.
The fans were arrested for uploading pictures of Mohammed bin Salman with the inscription “There is no place for the killer of children in Yemen” and another demanding that Saudi Arabia leave the English Premier League and not be allowed to whitewash violations in sports activities.
English LGBT fans demonstrated in Brighton to support a gay man arrested in Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom’s ban on gay activities on the sidelines of the Newcastle match.
Stuart Matthews, a spokesman for the Brighton Gay and Transgender Group, said the Saudi regime was “a ruthless regime that is deeply determined to suppress all forms of freedom of expression regardless of race, creed, colour or gender.”
“I don’t agree that the Premier League puts money ahead of its principles,” Matthews added. “The Premier League should have adhered to its principles and rejected the Saudi deal. “The Saudis have not passed the owners-and-managers test before, but they have suddenly done it now, and I can’t figure out why.”
The match between Newcastle and Crystal Palace last week witnessed widespread protests against the backdrop of human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.
The British police announced that they had launched investigations into a “stinging banner” against Saudi Arabia raised in the stands during the match that ended in a 1-1 draw between Crystal Palace and Newcastle last Saturday.
The Croydon Metropolitan Police announced that it had opened an investigation into “allegations of racism” on its official Twitter account.
“The police are assessing the information after receiving on Saturday 23 October a report of an offensive banner displayed by Crystal Palace fans,” the police wrote in the post.
Police vowed that “any allegations of racism will be taken seriously”.
Crystal Palace fans attacked the English Premier League for allowing the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United through a “banner” referring to “violations” of human rights in Saudi Arabia, the murder case of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in addition to public executions in the country, imprisonment of opponents and censorship imposed by the Saudi authorities.
The group of fans known as “Holmsdale Fnatic” issued a statement on its Twitter page accusing the English Premier League of favouring money rather than principles by agreeing to a deal with “one of the most bloody and oppressive regimes in the world”.
The statement added that Saudi Arabia is “a fear-ridden country where women are second-class citizens, same-sex relationships are prohibited, journalists are silenced, imprisoned or killed, and dissidents are brutally persecuted.”
The English Premier League has given an investment group that includes the Saudi Public Investment Fund, “PCB Capital Partners,” and “RB Sports and Media”, the green light to acquire Newcastle United, despite warnings from Amnesty International that the deal represents a “polishing” process. Athlete” for the human rights record in the Gulf Kingdom.
Newcastle is now 80 per cent owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, with other investors sharing the rest.
Newcastle has not achieved any victory in the English Premier League since the start of the current season. It occupies the penultimate position with 5 points, losing from 5 draws and six losses.
