Newcastle United’s pre-season friendly against Mainz will go ahead as planned despite calls from fans of the Bundesliga club for it to be cancelled amid accusations of “sportswashing”.
Mainz have expressed their “regret” at the unrest the fixture has caused as a result of the Premier League outfit’s 80 per cent ownership by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but has described pulling out as “unthinkable”.
