It has been fascinating to watch the conversation move on. At the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire in the summer of 2022, the former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer had to withstand a shout of whether he was “accepting blood money” through his association with LIV Golf. Household names in European golf sat on a podium – uncomfortably – while having to defend their defections to a tour funded by Saudi Arabia.
The same issues swirled around St James’ Park as Saudi’s Public Investment Fund bought a controlling stake in the club in late 2021. As fans whooped and hollered at the curtailment of the Mike Ashley era, there was discomfort elsewhere at a British sporting institution falling under the spell of an autocratic regime which has been intrinsically linked to the butchering of Jamal Khashoggi.
