Newcastle United fans displayed the flag of Saudi Arabia during their Premier League match at Chelsea on Sunday, a day after the state carried out 81 executions.
The Magpies had their Saudi Arabian-backed takeover completed in October as the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia pledged their immense wealth to the club.
Saturday’s number represented the kingdom's biggest mass execution in decades with a tally that dwarfed the 67 executions reported there during all of 2021 and the 27 reported in 2020.
Offences ranged from joining militant groups to holding "deviant beliefs", the Saudi Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The statement read: "These individuals, totalling 81, were convicted of various crimes including murdering innocent men, women and children."
It added: "Crimes committed by these individuals also include pledging allegiance to foreign terrorist organisations, such as ISIS (Islamic State), al-Qaeda and the Houthis."
The Ministry did not say how the executions were carried out.
The men included 37 Saudi nationals who were found guilty in a single case for attempting to assassinate security officers and targeting police stations and convoys, the statement added.
The mass execution is likely to bring back attention to Saudi Arabia's human rights record - at a time when world powers have been focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Indeed, much of the build-up to Newcastle ’s match at Stamford Bridge on Sunday had focused on the sanctions imposed on Blues owner Roman Abramovich.
The billionaire has had his assets frozen in the UK in the wake of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, although he continues to deny any links to president Vladimir Putin.
On Saturday, the Premier League confirmed they had suspended Abramovich as director of the club.
The West London club are now operating under a special license - severely limiting their revenue streams - and shirt sponsors Three have suspended their partnership, worth £40million per annum.
Barclays have also suspended the club's bank account and there's a possibility the Blues could face financial armageddon between now and the summer due to the precarious situation.
There is also a great amount of scrutiny on the role of Saudi Arabia at Newcastle, with rights groups having accused the kingdom of enforcing restrictive laws on political and religious expression.
These groups have also criticised the nation for using the death penalty - including on defendants arrested when they were minors.
Soraya Bauwens, deputy director of anti-death penalty charity Reprieve, said in a statement: "There are prisoners of conscience on Saudi death row, and others arrested as children or charged with non-violent crimes."
She added: "We fear for every one of them following this brutal display of impunity."
Saudi Arabia denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.
