It all gets out of hand at St James' Park

Once again we are seeing headlines of Sportswashing and Saudi Arabia in relation to Newcastle United.

The media always eager as ever to have a go at the NUFC fanbase.

On this occasion presented with an open goal.

Friday night saw Saudi Arabia play against Costa Rica at St James’ Park.

I had zero interest in the match, the same as 99.99999 per cent of Newcastle United fans.

From what I have picked up from afar / online, is that only the East Stand was open, with maybe around 4,000 paying (£5 and £3 for concessions) to watch.

Again, I am only making guesstimates on what I have read and seen online, but from what I can make out, over half of those in attendance were there as Saudi Arabia fans – living in the UK etc. Whilst the other thousand, maybe fifteen hundred at a push, an eclectic mix of those living locally who were curious and/or attracted by the cheap as chips prices to have a chance to go to a game at St James’ Park, with an unknown number of this eclectic mix being people who would identify as Newcastle United fans.

Also in attendance, pre-match outside St James’ Park, was a handful of people going under the banner of ‘Newcastle United fans against Sportswashing’.

Earlier in the week, this group had organised an event in Newcastle Upon Tyne city centre, an event where more media people were there than punters (whether or not they identified as Newcastle United fans).

To be honest, for sure there were probably more media inside (and outside…) St James’ Park on Friday night than people who regularly attend Newcastle United matches, well, what passes for media these days. With a phone / social media these days, it appears that pretty much everybody fancies themselves as a journalist…

Anyway, Saudi Arabia lost the game 3-1 to Costa Rica, but nobody of course was really interested in that, well, certainly where the media / journalists were concerned.

As I said at the start, the usual suspects in the media handed an absolute open goal thanks to certain Newcastle United fans on Friday night and I am NOT talking about the handful of NUFC against Sportswashing protesters.

There is an old saying  – ‘Stick to what you know’

Well, in this case, I can’t think of a better phrase to sum it up. That phrase (Stick to what you know) is basically advice that people shouldn’t make an embarrassment of themselves, by talking about something that they are clueless about, particularly if they are going to ‘debate’ this in public, in front of a device that will record what is said.

So anyway, Friday night saw a certain clueless NUFC youtuber totally embarrass himself and sadly, create this own goal opportunity for our enemies in the media, as well as the whole wide world, such is the nature / reach of social media these days.

As well as his own clueless comments on the Saudi Arabia / Sportswashing issues, the NUFC youtuber in question also recording and publishing a clip of three different ‘Newcastle United fans’ interacting with the protesters pre-match.

One of the three clearly wasn’t even a Newcastle United fan, but there you go, outside St James’ Park and filmed by an NUFC youtuber, mixed in with the other two who clearly were Newcastle supporters, to the outside world and people who would know no different, they automatically assume this was an NUFC fan as well. Whilst our enemies in the media will know for sure that wasn’t the case BUT for their own purposes, choose to pretend otherwise.

As for the other two who were Newcastle United fans, they were absolutely schooled by an old bloke with a local accent, quite probably a Newcastle supporter, who humiliated the pair, as they (separately) tried to debate Saudi Arabia human rights and so on.

One was a middle aged bloke who thankfully didn’t persevere too long, realising he was swiftly 5-0 down with only seconds played.

However, the other one was loving it.

A teenager who looked around 16 or 17, who appeared to be there with two smirking younger kids of 11 or 12 (his younger brother and his mate?), going on at length in his Saudi Arabia ‘debate’ with the oldie-Sportswashing bloke.

It was humiliating to watch, as the teenager was absolutely battered by the 75/80+? year old protester, if the old bloke had used his walking stick to hammer his points home, it couldn’t have done a better job.

The teenager appeared totally oblivious as to how clueless he was, though there again, would he even have been bothered if he’d realised how badly this was going? Getting filmed by an NUFC youtuber and very likely to end up online, you can only think this was the all important thing.

Indeed, I would bet my last penny that if there hadn’t been somebody there recording, there is zero chance that this young NUFC fan would have been ‘confronting’ the protesters.

Regardless of the above, the net result is that this clip of the three ‘Newcastle fans’ is out there and getting massive traction on social media, getting shared and commented on, especially by the usual suspects in the media who have such an obvious anti-Newcastle United fans and club agenda.

How this video clip is being used, is basically this – ‘This is what Newcastle United fans all think and how they all behave.’

This is where it gets totally unacceptable, in terms of how the media behave.

Pointing to one or two people and claiming this how they all think and behave.

It is absolutely disgusting, for these journalists to demonise an entire fanbase / city / region, based on the actions of a very small minority. It is just like somebody claiming everybody in Sunderland is less than kind to any Seagull they might come into contact with…

The clear narrative / approach from the usual suspects / journalists, is to make out that the Saudi Arabia PIF owning 80 per cent of Newcastle United is one of the worst things that has ever happened in the history of the world AND that the Newcastle United fanbase are responsible for all human rights abuses that happen in Saudi Arabia. That if only Newcastle United fans… well, they never actually come up with any suggestions as to what NUFC supporters could / should be doing to bring about changes in Saudi Arabia. The Newcastle United fanbase is just an easy target for a pile-on by these unscrupulous journalists, who absolutely know that if they have a go on social media at NUFC fans, they will be for sure backed up by malicious supporters of other clubs, who pretend that the reaction of Newcastle United fans to the club’s owners, is any different to what it would be if it happened at their club.

Bottom line, is that the Saudi Arabia PIF owning 80 per cent of Newcastle United, has caused a very small number of fans to stop actively going to matches and/or buying official club merchandise and so on, whilst at the other extreme you have another small grouping of people who don’t care at all how many people are mistreated, even killed, in Saudi Arabia, just as they don’t care if this happens in any other country.

Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of Newcastle fans, were simply ecstatic that after a decade and a half, Mike Ashley had sold the club. Nobody had a vote on who bought the club from Mike Ashley, that isn’t how these things work. If it did and was that easy, then Mike Ashley wouldn’t have lasted 15 months, never mind almost 15 years.

Your average Newcastle United fan when asked about human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, would say that they think it is a really bad situation out there – according to what we read and see via the media, but what are we as NUFC supporters supposed to do to change that? The zero integrity journalists would no doubt say we should all be taking to the streets and protesting against our club ownership, with them pretending that this is how fanbases at other clubs would behave if majority owned by Saudi Arabia PIF. This is totally disingenuous as they know fine well that wouldn’t be the case. They know fine well that every other fanbase would be the same, the vast majority of fans saying they had no say in who owns their club, that whilst they would like to see human rights abuses stop,, wherever they may be happening in the world, but what are they as football bans supposed to do about it.

Why should it be football fans held responsible for what happens thousands of miles away and over which they have no say / power. Surely that is why we have elected governments in countries such as ours, whilst you then have the football authorities who set the rules / parameters when it comes to our sport, NOT supporters.

The way journalists go on, you would think that St James’ Park was filled every home match with tens of thousands of Newcastle fans wearing Arab / Saudi style dress, all signing pro Saudi regime songs and Wor Flags with displays celebrating the torture and deaths of innocents.

Speaking of the journalists who act so shamefully towards Newcastle United fans, step forward Tariq Panja.

Along with his usual mates, Panja is one of those who has cynically jumped on this pile-on that has followed the youtuber video outside St James’ Park on Friday night.

This is the same Tariq Panja who landed an exclusive interview with Kylian Mbappe almost exactly a year ago.

You are given an entire hour to interview him.

You are allowed to ask him any question you want.

You are a self-proclaimed fearless dedicated human rights defender.

You relentlessly (along with likes of Oliver Holt and Miguel Delaney) troll Newcastle United fans, slagging them off regarding their supposed acceptance / non-questioning of the Saudi Arabia PIF majority ownership.

You do this at the Eddie Howe post-match press conference after the Chelsea 1 Newcastle 0 game in March 2022 at Stamford Bridge….Tariq Panja stating – Asked Eddie Howe on thoughts about the 81 people executed in Saudi Arabia by the people that bankroll his team. His response: “I’ll stick to football.”

You don’t then ask Klyian Mbappe a single question about Qatar and human rights in an entire hour long interview…

Quite incredible.

It gets worse / better though.

Then you try to justify why you didn’t ask Kylian Mbappe a single question on Qatar and human rights…

Talk about the absolute hypocrite digging an ever deeper hole for himself!!!

Quite breathtaking.

Tariq Panja has shamelessly gone after Newcastle United fans, alongside the laughable Delaney and Holt, amongst others, calling them (and Eddie Howe etc) to account for all kinds of stuff regarding Saudi Arabia human rights issues, basically just because they happen to support (and manage) that football club.

As a human rights champion and especially last September when all kinds of shameful stories were in the news about what was happening in Qatar ahead of the World Cup, as well as all the usual ways that Qatar operates, then surely your vey first question to Mbappe, who plays for Qatar owned PSG, would have been about human rights issues?

Instead, we are supposed to believe that it barely passed through Tariq’s head to ask such a question(s) and that even if he had done, it would have been an afterthought.

The journalists decide the agenda, they pick and choose what angles they want to cover AND not cover.

Consider this.

When it comes to Saudi Arabia, how come Manchester United are NEVER name checked? I find it absolutely totally bizarre.

On the one hand we keep getting told time and again that Manchester United are supposedly the biggest football club on the planet…Yet they are now into 16 Premier League seasons and counting, of taking money from the Saudi Arabia regime and NEVER get mentioned when it comes to the controversy.

Why do the media not see this as newsworthy in any respect?

Why do these journalists not even think it worth mentioning?

Where have the media and Manchester United been with their campaigning, outrage and principles this past decade and a half, with the Saudi Arabia regime as the longest existing sponsors of Man Utd?

The Saudi regime through the state owned Saudi Telecom have ploughed fortunes into Old Trafford since 2008 and continue to do so, millions every season.

Then in 2017, Man Utd agreed yet another very lucrative revenue stream from the Saudi Arabia regime, ‘the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia’ in partnership with Manchester United.

Whilst advertising and sponsorship deals are of course a smaller affair than an actual takeover of a club, the ‘principle’ remains very much the same. With sponsorship / advertising, you actually take money directly in return for some business (and / or regime…) then being able to attach their name to your brand / good name…

Why have we never heard the media this past decade and a half demanding to know why the Manchester United fans aren’t bothered about seeing their club selling its good name to the Saudi Arabia regime in return for serious riches that have helped their club / team win loads of trophies?

Why isn’t Erik ten Hag and all those other Man Utd managers before him, ever asked about what is happening in Saud Arabia?

Just have a look online, I can’t find a single article in the mainstream media that has ever, in 16 (SIXTEEN!) seasons, ever tackled this Man Utd revenue stream that has brought in massive amounts of cash to Old Trafford.

Making the ‘rules’ up as they go along, the likes of Panja, Delaney and Holt would no doubt say that’s different, sponsorship as opposed to majority ownership.

Well of course it is different BUT the two things are also 100 per cent connected.

Put it this way, do you honestly believe that if it had been Newcastle United taking millions every year for sixteen seasons, that there would never have once been a negative story in the mainstream media about it?

It says it all.

In the wider picture, the media continually manipulate what people see on their TV screens, in newspapers / magazines, online and so on.

One small example.

How many times these past 10, 20, 30 years have you seen the cameras outside St James’ Park, with the thickest most embarrassing person imaginable, getting interviewed about whatever was happening at Newcastle United at that particular time. You sitting at home and wanting to kick the TV in, as the character being interviewed will have the nation laughing at us all? Almost as if they have been specially chosen…

Then compare it to this.

It is very subtle because why would your average punter when watching TV or whatever, even realise the possibility that they are being manipulated and given a distorted view?

I am talking about over many years watching journalists interviewing fans outside the likes of Old Trafford and Anfield. It was ages ago I twigged onto this.

On a regular basis I would watch a report where a handful of fans would be interviewed and I’d be thinking, that’s been a massive coincidence, all the fans interviewed happened to have local accents (Manc and Scouser respectively. I am not having a go about them having so many glory hunters (not this time anyway!) BUT the reality is that the chances of stopping at random half a dozen people outside Anfield and/or Old Trafford, then finding they are all from that locality, is very very unlikely. To do it time and time again? We are talking winning the lottery three draws in a role type odds.

I am not saying that this was every journalist / broadcaster but quite clearly, plenty of these journalists were desperate, for whatever reason, to portray that these fanbases were seriously more Manc / Scouse than is the reality.

When it comes to so much of the media, when dealing with the Newcastle United fanbase it is the exact opposite.

An agenda of so many to portray us all as total idiots, or something far far worse.