Human Rights Watch calls football clubs a ‘propaganda machine’

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Manchester City has been part of the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) since September 2008 and as such is closely associated with the royal family of the United Arab Emirates. Because Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the owner of ADUG and at the same time a member of the ruling family. Since the acquisition, €2.036 billion has been invested in signings only with players.

The situation is similar with Qatar and the Qatar Sports Investments Investors Group (QSI), which is closely linked to the Emirate of Qatar. Nasser Al-Khelaifi is the CEO of the group and bought the French club Paris Saint-Germain in 2011. In just eleven years he invested 1.405 billion euros and he is also the club’s president.

Reputation promotion strategy

These developments are part of a strategy pursued by authoritarian states such as the United Arab Emirates or Qatar.

This phenomenon is called sports washing. What exactly is behind it? Why do countries invest in football clubs? What do clubs get out of it and why are they criticized?

Wenzel Michalski, the German director of Human Rights Watch, explains the term as follows: “Sport is a fad when sport is used by authoritarian states to polish their reputation and cover up grievances.”

Wenzel Michalski has been the German director of Human Rights Watch since September 2010.BUILD: The Imago Stock and the People / Rainer Zensen

The latest example is Saudi Arabia and Newcastle United. In October, the Public Investment Fund (PFI) took charge of the current Premier League relegation contenders. PFI is a sovereign wealth fund for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, headed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Newcastle immediately used the new money from the Saudi royal family in the winter transfer window. Magpies paid a total of €102 million to players such as Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood and Bruno Guimarães. Sports recovery must come from these players: this season first through survival, then coach Eddie Howe wants to lead the club to a successful time – with money from the principality.

The Saudi businessman, now in charge of Newcastle, is also the director of the PFI and is responsible for improving the image of Saudi Arabia through sporting success at Newcastle. The English media and fans are also aware of this. As Tom Roddy, a journalist for “The Times” and “Sunday Times”, told Watson: “It is generally accepted that the acquisition is nothing more than sporting laundering. It is an attempt to use football and Newcastle United, a fantastic and historic club in English football, as a tool to cleanse the image – and indeed the reality – of Saudi Arabia.”

Tom Rudy is an English journalist for The Times and The Sunday Times.Photo: Tom Rudy / Tom Rudy

Human Rights Watch’s Michalsky put it more frankly on Watson. “The football clubs and all the federations are so corrupt that they accept this money and interfere with the propaganda machine, To clean up the reputations of countries that commit human rights violations.

How does the public act in such events? what is your role?

After the Saudi takeover of Newcastle, many videos of die-hard Newcastle fans spread on social media. Celebrate the new chests. However, Michalsky disputes the impression that the fan scene represents only this view: “After the Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s takeover of Newcastle, the main focus was on the happy fans. However, I have noticed in social media the disappointment and anger of fans, but it has also been viewed critically in the British media.”

A poll by the Newcastle United Supporters Trust speaks against this. Soon after the acquisition, this association published the opinion of Newcastle fans. The result: 93 percent of respondents approve of the acquisition.

Rudy from England describes a divided camp for fans. He believes that fans and residents are also aware of the “terrible human rights situation” in Saudi Arabia:

This view is closely related to the question of how money is responsible for success in football. Then Rudy first asked what could be considered successful: “Burnley have been in the Premier League for the past five years with a very small budget. The most expensive deal last season was Del Stevens for £1m (€1,2m, editor)..) .” Oddly enough, American company ALK Capital acquired Burnley in December 2020. This season they are in the midst of a relegation battle, while in previous years they finished 7th, 15th, 10th and 17th.

Money as a guarantee of success in football

But seventh place does not win titles in modern football. And if you define yourself only with awards, Rudy also sees money as a decisive factor: “At the moment, there is no club more impressive than Manchester City. Would it have been possible without the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008? Certainly not.”

Success stories such as Leicester City’s 2016 Premier League Championship second year after promotion are increasingly rare exceptions. “But in the current era, it takes money to regularly compete with the elite.”

Such takeovers of clubs are not possible in Germany. The 50 + 1 rule forbids this, however the phenomenon of “sports washing” also exists in Germany. According to human rights activist Michalsky, it is not as clear as in England. “However, there are signals and a supportive base that are critically alert, vocal and effective in speaking out about wrongdoing by countries with which clubs are dealing. Examples include Gazprom and Qatar Airways. The latter became very clear at the general meeting of FC Bayern Munich.”

Michalsky addresses the general meeting of the record champions in November 2021. There was a heated debate about whether the partnership with Qatar Airways would continue beyond the summer of 2023. The leadership of the association did not allow a member’s request to vote on this at the meeting. It remains unclear how the club will decide.

But how can the image be improved by investing several million euros in sports clubs? Michalsky explains it as follows: “Sportswear should have an external impact on other countries, but also on the population internally. It must reassure its citizens and show that the country is important in the world and that the country is celebrating.”

Club takeover is just one component of sports laundry. Other forms are individual event holdings. For example, through Formula 1 races, which took place recently in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, or through world championships or Olympic Games in authoritarian countries.

The question remains whether football professionals can do something themselves to combat the washing of the sport. The most obvious option is to avoid clubs funded by authoritarian states. However, Rudy is skeptical that something like this could happen: “One would like to assume that players are interested in the history of the owners of their clubs – and some will be. But the truth is that players want to win trophies and improve their salaries.”

However, there is hope, too. The captain of the Finland national team, Tim Sparf, has repeatedly criticized the World Cup in Qatar. in one Contributing to “The Players Tribune” in September 2021, he wrote: “Please keep talking about the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Keep the discussion. Keep expressing your support for migrant workers. Put more pressure on Qatar and FIFA.” It’s at least a sign that athletes are raising their voices against sports washing.