Why I Might Be Done Supporting Newcastle United

"If this takeover does go through, I fear that will be the end of my love for this club..."

In this piece, John-Paul Quinn explains the moral dilemma that he and other Newcastle United fans are going through as their club is wrangled over by a foreign state.

After suffering thirteen years of Mike Ashley, his impending departure should bring great joy to me as a Newcastle United fan. But my current emotion is not one of joy.

The prospective new ownership involves Amanda Stavely, the Reuben brothers and, most notably, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), who will hold a majority stake. PIF is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. They bring vast wealth but also much controversy.

Saudi Arabia and its Royal Family are accused of terrible human rights violations with Amnesty International stating that they are among the worst offenders in the world. As the effective ruler of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the PIF, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is at the centre of the controversy. He was accused—among many other things—of ordering the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Turkish embassy as well as instigating the war in Yemen.

So how does this impact on Newcastle United? The question has been raised whether this is simply a sportswashing exercise—using sport as a means of improving Saudi Arabia’s international image. Despite media scrutiny over this deal, we’ve also seen some fans displaying Saudi Arabia flags on their Twitter profiles and essentially glorifying the regime.

As fans, we are faced with the potential of huge investment in the football club; something that has been severely lacking under Mike Ashley and within the region as a whole. Added to this, across the last decade, we’ve seen the way Manchester City’s owners have transformed the club from top to bottom. For many of us, this is a chance to see a sleeping giant of a club—who haven’t won a major trophy since the Fairs Cup in 1969 and a domestic trophy since the FA Cup in 1955—finally compete for honours again. There’s a lot to get excited about.

But there is also a moral dilemma.

Newcastle fans are no strangers to ethical wrangling. Mike Ashley turned the club into a giant advert for Sports Direct, even renaming the stadium at one point. Now we face the prospect of becoming a vehicle to promote the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and their enterprises. It seems unfair that one set of moral quandaries is being replaced by another. For many of us, these aren’t the sort of conversations we want to be having. Nevertheless, we do need to have them. Our football club is now a part of this debate and that makes many of us deeply uncomfortable.

But none of this stops this issue from being a moral burden which isn’t ours to carry. The fans can bear no responsibility for the club falling into the hands of the Saudi Arabian state. The governing bodies—FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League—are the ones with the power to stop it. Western governments continue to accommodate the Saudis, welcome them into their homes, and even sell them weapons. Why should we, as fans, be expected to have higher moral standards than FIFA or our government?

In reality, though, it falls on others to question whether this deal should be allowed to happen. The media, Amnesty International, certain fan groups and even the fiancée of the murdered Khashoggi have called on authorities to prevent the sale. Their concerns are unlikely to make any difference. Newcastle fans themselves are largely supportive of the deal: 96.7% said they were in favour of the proposed takeover in a Newcastle United Supporters Trust survey. No doubt it would be little different at most other clubs.

We often question the direction of the modern game; a game where everything seems to be motivated by finance and greed. But surely, promoting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an entirely different proposition.

Newcastle United are outspoken in their promotion of diversity and inclusivity. How do we square that with the fact that acts of homosexuality are still illegal in Saudi Arabia and LGBT people can face torture or capital punishment? Just last week, the club tweeted an image of players kneeling, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. The club has to have a moral conscience.

For some people, this presents the potential for the Saudi state to be held accountable. Perhaps, as fans, we can use the profile of the Premier League to shed light on the ethical issues behind the Saudi government? But should that really be necessary? Do I need to become a rival to my own club?

We often talk about how football is about so much more than just kicking a ball around. It’s about pride in your club, in your city, the togetherness and sharing those moments of elation and despair. For me, there will be no pride in a club owned by the Saudi regime; being associated with their offences.

In recent years, life as a Newcastle fan hasn’t exactly been filled with joy. Many fans feel the very soul of the club has been ripped out by Mike Ashley. Will that soul really be restored by the Saudi owners? It seems hard to see how.

In the same way that I was no longer prepared to fund Mike Ashley’s Newcastle United, I’d be loath to give money to these new owners. That seems to be an acceptance of their ownership. This was no different under Ashley—fans were largely split on the issue and ultimately it made no difference.

Maybe it’s impossible to avoid funding the Saudi state in one way or another. We use their oil, after all. But supporting my club should not have me defending a ‘necessary evil’. If this is a sportswashing exercise, then celebrating any success on the pitch would seem to be contributing to their cause. Can you separate the football on the pitch and the ownership? It seems unlikely.

The top and bottom is that I don’t see how I can support something that goes against so much of what I value—human rights, free speech, peace; things that are far more important than football. If this takeover does go through, I fear that will be the end of my love for this club.

You can follow John-Paul Quinn on Twitter @AttackingCB.

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