Groups of Newcastle United and Manchester United fans have joined forces before the teams meet on Sunday to call for a ban on the sale of clubs to states who could use their ownership for sportswashing human rights abuses.
NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing and United Against Sportwashing issued a joint statement in the buildup to the game at St James’ Park. Newcastle are majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), while the Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani is trying to buy Manchester United.