Despite the fierce criticism from its fans, the German club Mainz insisted, on Tuesday, that it go ahead with its scheduled friendly match with Newcastle United, the English club, owned by the Saudi Investment Fund.
Fans of Mainz, and another German team, Munich 1860, who plays in the third division, protested the two teams’ friendlies with Newcastle, arguing that they amounted to “sports laundering” – similar to money laundering – and the use of sporting events to polish the image of Saudi Arabia and downplaying rights problems person in the Kingdom.
“Newcastle United is not just a football club, but a means to implement the interests of a regime that crushes human rights and whose policies are completely contrary to Mainz 05’s values and mission statement,” the Mainz Fans’ Association said in a statement last week.
The Mainz administration offered to meet with representatives of the fans to discuss their criticism of Saudi Arabia, but said that the match scheduled for July 18, during a training camp in Austria, will be held on time for contractual reasons.
The management added that Mainz has few chances to play with leading European clubs.
The club’s director of football, Christian Heidel, said: “From a sporting perspective, we cannot give up on this friendly match. The unilateral cancellation by us, as some fans are demanding, is inconceivable as this could have serious legal and economic consequences for us due to contractual obligations and because we In principle, we abide by our contractual agreements.”
Since the Saudi Public Investment Fund completed a deal to acquire Newcastle by a majority in October, the team set up a winter training camp in Saudi Arabia and issued a “reserve uniform” for the next season in the white and green Saudi national team shirt, which raised the objections of some of its supporters.