As soon as once more we’re seeing headlines of Sportswashing and Saudi Arabia in relation to Newcastle United.
The media all the time keen as ever to have a go on the NUFC fanbase.
On this event offered with an open objective.
Friday evening noticed Saudi Arabia play in opposition to Costa Rica at St James’ Park.
I had zero curiosity within the match, the identical as 99.99999 per cent of Newcastle United followers.
From what I’ve picked up from afar / on-line, is that solely the East Stand was open, with possibly round 4,000 paying (£5 and £3 for concessions) to observe.
Once more, I’m solely making guesstimates on what I’ve learn and seen on-line, however from what I could make out, over half of these in attendance have been there as Saudi Arabia followers – dwelling within the UK and so on. While the opposite thousand, possibly fifteen hundred at a push, an eclectic mixture of these dwelling regionally who have been curious and/or attracted by a budget as chips costs to have an opportunity to go to a sport at St James’ Park, with an unknown variety of this eclectic combine being individuals who would establish as Newcastle United followers.
Additionally in attendance, pre-match exterior St James’ Park, was a handful of individuals going below the banner of ‘Newcastle United followers in opposition to Sportswashing’.
Earlier within the week, this group had organised an occasion in Newcastle Upon Tyne metropolis centre, an occasion the place extra media individuals have been there than punters (whether or not or not they recognized as Newcastle United followers).
To be trustworthy, for positive there have been most likely extra media inside (and outdoors…) St James’ Park on Friday evening than individuals who recurrently attend Newcastle United matches, properly, what passes for media as of late. With a cellphone / social media as of late, it seems that just about everyone fancies themselves as a journalist…
Anyway, Saudi Arabia misplaced the sport 3-1 to Costa Rica, however no person after all was actually all for that, properly, actually the place the media / journalists have been involved.
As I mentioned at the beginning, the standard suspects within the media handed an absolute open objective because of sure Newcastle United followers on Friday evening and I’m NOT speaking in regards to the handful of NUFC in opposition to Sportswashing protesters.
There may be an outdated saying – ‘Stick with what ’
Effectively, on this case, I can’t consider a greater phrase to sum it up. That phrase (Stick with what ) is mainly recommendation that individuals shouldn’t make a humiliation of themselves, by speaking about one thing that they’re clueless about, notably if they’ll ‘debate’ this in public, in entrance of a tool that can file what is claimed.
So anyway, Friday evening noticed a sure clueless NUFC youtuber completely embarrass himself and sadly, create this personal objective alternative for our enemies within the media, in addition to the entire extensive world, such is the character / attain of social media as of late.
In addition to his personal clueless feedback on the Saudi Arabia / Sportswashing points, the NUFC youtuber in query additionally recording and publishing a clip of three totally different ‘Newcastle United followers’ interacting with the protesters pre-match.
One of many three clearly wasn’t even a Newcastle United fan, however there you go, exterior St James’ Park and filmed by an NUFC youtuber, combined in with the opposite two who clearly have been Newcastle supporters, to the surface world and individuals who would know no totally different, they mechanically assume this was an NUFC fan as properly. While our enemies within the media will know for positive that wasn’t the case BUT for their very own functions, select to fake in any other case.
As for the opposite two who have been Newcastle United followers, they have been completely schooled by an outdated bloke with a neighborhood accent, fairly most likely a Newcastle supporter, who humiliated the pair, as they (individually) tried to debate Saudi Arabia human rights and so forth.
One was a center aged bloke who fortunately didn’t persevere too lengthy, realising he was swiftly 5-0 down with solely seconds performed.
Nevertheless, the opposite one was loving it.
A young person who regarded round 16 or 17, who seemed to be there with two smirking youthful youngsters of 11 or 12 (his youthful brother and his mate?), occurring at size in his Saudi Arabia ‘debate’ with the oldie-Sportswashing bloke.
It was humiliating to observe, as {the teenager} was completely battered by the 75/80+? 12 months outdated protester, if the outdated bloke had used his strolling keep on with hammer his factors residence, it couldn’t have executed a greater job.
{The teenager} appeared completely oblivious as to how clueless he was, although there once more, would he even have been bothered if he’d realised how badly this was going? Getting filmed by an NUFC youtuber and really prone to find yourself on-line, you may solely assume this was the all essential factor.
Certainly, I’d wager my final penny that if there hadn’t been someone there recording, there may be zero probability that this younger NUFC fan would have been ‘confronting’ the protesters.
Whatever the above, the online result’s that this clip of the three ‘Newcastle followers’ is on the market and getting large traction on social media, getting shared and commented on, particularly by the standard suspects within the media who’ve such an apparent anti-Newcastle United followers and membership agenda.
How this video clip is getting used, is mainly this – ‘That is what Newcastle United followers all assume and the way all of them behave.’
That is the place it will get completely unacceptable, by way of how the media behave.
Pointing to 1 or two individuals and claiming this how all of them assume and behave.
It’s completely disgusting, for these journalists to demonise a whole fanbase / metropolis / area, based mostly on the actions of a really small minority. It is rather like someone claiming everyone in Sunderland is lower than type to any Seagull they may come into contact with…
The clear narrative / method from the standard suspects / journalists, is to make out that the Saudi Arabia PIF proudly owning 80 per cent of Newcastle United is without doubt one of the worst issues that has ever occurred within the historical past of the world AND that the Newcastle United fanbase are chargeable for all human rights abuses that occur in Saudi Arabia. That if solely Newcastle United followers… properly, they by no means truly give you any ideas as to what NUFC supporters might / ought to be doing to result in adjustments in Saudi Arabia. The Newcastle United fanbase is simply a straightforward goal for a pile-on by these unscrupulous journalists, who completely know that if they’ve a go on social media at NUFC followers, they are going to be for positive backed up by malicious supporters of different golf equipment, who fake that the response of Newcastle United followers to the membership’s house owners, is any totally different to what it could be if it occurred at their membership.
Backside line, is that the Saudi Arabia PIF proudly owning 80 per cent of Newcastle United, has brought on a really small variety of followers to cease actively going to matches and/or shopping for official membership merchandise and so forth, while on the different excessive you will have one other small grouping of people that don’t care in any respect how many individuals are mistreated, even killed, in Saudi Arabia, simply as they don’t care if this occurs in some other nation.
In the meantime, the overwhelming majority of Newcastle followers, have been merely ecstatic that after a decade and a half, Mike Ashley had bought the membership. No person had a vote on who purchased the membership from Mike Ashley, that isn’t how these items work. If it did and was that simple, then Mike Ashley wouldn’t have lasted 15 months, by no means thoughts virtually 15 years.
Your common Newcastle United fan when requested about human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, would say that they assume it’s a actually unhealthy scenario on the market – based on what we learn and see by way of the media, however what are we as NUFC supporters purported to do to vary that? The zero integrity journalists would little question say we must always all be taking to the streets and protesting in opposition to our membership possession, with them pretending that that is how fanbases at different golf equipment would behave if majority owned by Saudi Arabia PIF. That is completely disingenuous as they know effective properly that wouldn’t be the case. They know effective properly that each different fanbase could be the identical, the overwhelming majority of followers saying they’d no say in who owns their membership, that while they wish to see human rights abuses cease,, wherever they might be occurring on this planet, however what are they as soccer bans purported to do about it.
Why ought to or not it’s soccer followers held chargeable for what occurs hundreds of miles away and over which they don’t have any say / energy. Certainly that’s the reason we have now elected governments in nations corresponding to ours, while you then have the soccer authorities who set the principles / parameters with regards to our sport, NOT supporters.
The best way journalists go on, you’d assume that St James’ Park was crammed each residence match with tens of hundreds of Newcastle followers carrying Arab / Saudi model gown, all signing professional Saudi regime songs and Wor Flags with shows celebrating the torture and deaths of innocents.
Talking of the journalists who act so shamefully in the direction of Newcastle United followers, step ahead Tariq Panja.
Alongside along with his ordinary mates, Panja is a kind of who has cynically jumped on this pile-on that has adopted the youtuber video exterior St James’ Park on Friday evening.
This is similar Tariq Panja who landed an unique interview with Kylian Mbappe virtually precisely a 12 months in the past.
You’re given a whole hour to interview him.
You’re allowed to ask him any query you need.
You’re a self-proclaimed fearless devoted human rights defender.
You relentlessly (together with likes of Oliver Holt and Miguel Delaney) troll Newcastle United followers, slagging them off concerning their supposed acceptance / non-questioning of the Saudi Arabia PIF majority possession.
You do that on the Eddie Howe post-match press convention after the Chelsea 1 Newcastle 0 sport in March 2022 at Stamford Bridge….Tariq Panja stating – Requested Eddie Howe on ideas in regards to the 81 individuals executed in Saudi Arabia by the people who bankroll his workforce. His response: “I’ll keep on with soccer.”
You don’t then ask Klyian Mbappe a single query about Qatar and human rights in a whole hour lengthy interview…
Fairly unbelievable.
It will get worse / higher although.
Then you definitely attempt to justify why you didn’t ask Kylian Mbappe a single query on Qatar and human rights…
Discuss in regards to the absolute hypocrite digging an ever deeper gap for himself!!!
Fairly breathtaking.
Tariq Panja has shamelessly gone after Newcastle United followers, alongside the laughable Delaney and Holt, amongst others, calling them (and Eddie Howe and so on) to account for all types of stuff concerning Saudi Arabia human rights points, mainly simply because they occur to help (and handle) that soccer membership.
As a human rights champion and particularly final September when all types of shameful tales have been within the information about what was occurring in Qatar forward of the World Cup, in addition to all the standard ways in which Qatar operates, then absolutely your vey first query to Mbappe, who performs for Qatar owned PSG, would have been about human rights points?
As a substitute, we’re purported to imagine that it barely handed via Tariq’s head to ask such a query(s) and that even when he had executed, it could have been an afterthought.
The journalists determine the agenda, they choose and select what angles they need to cowl AND not cowl.
Think about this.
In terms of Saudi Arabia, how come Manchester United are NEVER identify checked? I discover it completely completely weird.
On the one hand we hold getting instructed repeatedly that Manchester United are supposedly the most important soccer membership on the planet…But they’re now into 16 Premier League seasons and counting, of taking cash from the Saudi Arabia regime and NEVER get talked about with regards to the controversy.
Why do the media not see this as newsworthy the least bit?
Why do these journalists not even assume it value mentioning?
The place have the media and Manchester United been with their campaigning, outrage and ideas this previous decade and a half, with the Saudi Arabia regime because the longest current sponsors of Man Utd?
The Saudi regime via the state owned Saudi Telecom have ploughed fortunes into Outdated Trafford since 2008 and proceed to take action, thousands and thousands each season.
Then in 2017, Man Utd agreed yet one more very profitable income stream from the Saudi Arabia regime, ‘the Basic Sports activities Authority of Saudi Arabia’ in partnership with Manchester United.
While promoting and sponsorship offers are after all a smaller affair than an precise takeover of a membership, the ‘precept’ stays very a lot the identical. With sponsorship / promoting, you truly take cash straight in return for some enterprise (and / or regime…) then with the ability to connect their identify to your model / good identify…
Why have we by no means heard the media this previous decade and a half demanding to know why the Manchester United followers aren’t bothered about seeing their membership promoting its good identify to the Saudi Arabia regime in return for severe riches which have helped their membership / workforce win a great deal of trophies?
Why isn’t Erik ten Hag and all these different Man Utd managers earlier than him, ever requested about what is going on in Saud Arabia?
Simply take a look on-line, I can’t discover a single article within the mainstream media that has ever, in 16 (SIXTEEN!) seasons, ever tackled this Man Utd income stream that has introduced in large quantities of money to Outdated Trafford.
Making the ‘guidelines’ up as they go alongside, the likes of Panja, Delaney and Holt would little question say that’s totally different, sponsorship versus majority possession.
Effectively after all it’s totally different BUT the 2 issues are additionally 100 per cent related.
Put it this fashion, do you actually imagine that if it had been Newcastle United taking thousands and thousands yearly for sixteen seasons, that there would by no means have as soon as been a detrimental story within the mainstream media about it?
It says all of it.
Within the wider image, the media frequently manipulate what individuals see on their TV screens, in newspapers / magazines, on-line and so forth.
One small instance.
What number of occasions these previous 10, 20, 30 years have you ever seen the cameras exterior St James’ Park, with the thickest most embarrassing particular person conceivable, getting interviewed about no matter was occurring at Newcastle United at that individual time. You sitting at residence and desirous to kick the TV in, because the character being interviewed could have the nation laughing at us all? Virtually as if they’ve been specifically chosen…
Then evaluate it to this.
It is vitally refined as a result of why would your common punter when watching TV or no matter, even realise the chance that they’re being manipulated and given a distorted view?
I’m speaking about over a few years watching journalists interviewing followers exterior the likes of Outdated Trafford and Anfield. It was ages in the past I twigged onto this.
Regularly I’d watch a report the place a handful of followers could be interviewed and I’d be considering, that’s been an enormous coincidence, all of the followers interviewed occurred to have native accents (Manc and Scouser respectively. I’m not having a go about them having so many glory hunters (not this time anyway!) BUT the truth is that the probabilities of stopping at random half a dozen individuals exterior Anfield and/or Outdated Trafford, then discovering they’re all from that locality, could be very impossible. To do it time and time once more? We’re speaking profitable the lottery three attracts in a task sort odds.
I’m not saying that this was each journalist / broadcaster however fairly clearly, loads of these journalists have been determined, for no matter cause, to painting that these fanbases have been critically extra Manc / Scouse than is the truth.
In terms of a lot of the media, when coping with the Newcastle United fanbase it’s the actual reverse.
An agenda of so many to painting us all as complete idiots, or one thing far far worse.
