Spurs' LGBTQ+ fan group will be holding a demonstration against the Saudi Arabian ownership of Newcastle United ahead of Tottenham's match against the Magpies at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Proud Lilywhites have confirmed that they will be protesting on Tottenham High Road ahead of the game, with a banner and balloons. It follows calls by Amnesty International for fans to raise human rights issues in Saudi Arabia whenever their teams play Newcastle, now “the richest club in the world”. The £305million takeover of the club by the Arab state’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has already sparked protests at Crystal Palace, Brighton and West Ham.
A spokesperson for Proud Lilywhites said: “In advance of Spurs v Newcastle on Sunday 3 April, members of Proud Lilywhites and THST will be on Tottenham High Road protesting the Saudi state’s ownership of Newcastle United. Football Clubs are important cultural and heritage assets and their use as shields for regimes that murder their citizens, jail their LGBTQ+ community and cause atrocities (as in Yemen) is something we want to keep a focus on, so this is never allowed to happen again.
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“We’ll be on the High Road from 14.30 for an hour, with a banner and 81 balloons to denote the recent mass execution of 81 men.”
Previous protests have highlighted the case of gay social media influencer, Suhail al-Jameel, sentenced by Saudi Arabia to three years in jail and 800 lashes. The 25-year-old, who has 170,000 followers on Twitter, was accused of sharing nude pictures online after he posted a picture of himself topless and wearing leopard-print shorts.
He later warned gay people to stay away from Saudi Arabia saying: “There is no place for you here, it is illegal to be who you are and it is sad”. Proud Lilywhites added: “We also want to shine a light on the plight of Suhail al-Jameel who is an icon for LGBTQ+ people in Saudi Arabia.
“Suhail is currently reported to be in a political prison (which is worse than a normal one) and is alleged to have received 800 lashes, after posting a shirtless photograph on Twitter. His ‘crimes’; are purported to include “homosexuality”,” imitating a woman”, “disobedience” and “public indecency”. We hope that UK pressure could lead to his release.”
At Crystal Palace a banner was held up in the stadium which took aim at the Premier League for waving the Newcastle deal through. It showed a man in Arab head-dress with a bloodied sword alongside a checklist of alleged offences which included : ‘Terrorism, beheading, civil rights abuses, murder, censorship and persecution”.
Felix Jakens, Amnesty International UK’s Head of Campaigns, said of the Newcastle takeover: “Football has its own issues with racism and other hate speech, but fans have a perfect right to voice concerns about serious human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia. The greater the spotlight on Saudi human rights violations, the better.
“If fans around the country are speaking about Saudi beheadings, about alleged Saudi war crimes in Yemen or the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, then that’s a useful way of getting basic facts about Saudi Arabia’s appalling human rights record out into the wider world. Though the Newcastle buyout is clearly part of the Saudi authorities’ long-term attempt to sportswash the country’s image, it’s fairly predictable that the effect in the short term has been to trigger greater discussion of human rights abuses in the country.
“Greater awareness of Saudi human rights issues is extremely welcome, and we hope it can lead to sustained pressure for much-needed reforms.”
