Some critics see buying a football club as a form of “sportswashing”—using the game to distract attention from a government’s oppressive actions at home
. Looked at one way, the game was a pulsating 3-3 draw, played out before 52,000 people—most of them Geordies fanatically cheering on Newcastle in a packed St James’ Park. Looked at another way, it pitted a team largely owned by Saudi Arabia’sNeither regime is noted for its sympathy for human rights. Saudi Arabia’s links to the, a journalist killed in its consulate in Istanbul in 2018, are well known.
Sovereign nations have even deeper pockets than wealthy businessmen to finance big clubs. Some critics regard buying a football club as a form of “sportswashing”, the practice of using the game to distract attention from a government’s oppressive actions at home. The same motivation persuades countries to host prestigious sporting events, such as when Russia was the venue for the winter Olympics in 2014 and the World Cup in 2018.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this year gave the Premier League a further headache because of Mr Abramovich’s ownership of Chelsea—and his links to Vladimir Putin. He was later placed under sanctions by the British government, which included restrictions on the club’s commercial activities. Chelsea was eventually bought for £2.5bn by a largely American consortium, in a deal that prevented Mr Abramovich from getting the proceeds.
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