Men’s Football Henderson Saudi transfer lets down LGBT communities he supported

NUMEROUS players have already made the move from English football to Saudi Arabia, but few have caused as much concern as Jordan Henderson’s proposed transfer from Liverpool to al-Ettifaq.

The switch has been mooted for a while and in recent days a deal between the Saudi club, managed by Steven Gerrard no less, and Liverpool has been agreed for around £12 million plus add-ons.

Al-Ettifaq is not one of the four clubs recently taken over by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) which also owns Newcastle United. 

It is instead owned by the Ministry of Sport, as most clubs were before the PIF takeovers. 

Nevertheless, it seems the entire league is beginning to throw its weight around in the transfer market alongside European leagues.

In Henderson, al-Ettifaq and the Saudi Professional League would be getting a player who has been the captain of one of Liverpool’s greatest-ever teams during the most successful period in the club’s recent history.

When it comes to aspects of the game not seen in fantasy football points or stats, Henderson has been highly valued by his teammates, coaches, and his manager Jurgen Klopp.

Thanks to Henderson’s work off the pitch, this value stretched even further, to fans and communities.

It could be argued that on the back of his work away from the game itself, his demeanour, and his professionalism, he has been one of the best captains the already historic and storied club has ever had.

One of the communities he has been very openly supportive of is the LGBT+ community.

In his captain’s programme notes ahead of a game against Southampton in November 2021, Henderson spoke about the Rainbow Laces Campaign which aims to show support for LGBT+ inclusion in sport.

In a wide-ranging column showing the type of unconditional support not often seen from players in the men’s game, Henderson approached the subject of him being considered an ally for the LGBT+ community.

“I’ve seen myself described as an ‘ally’ for the community who are striving to feel more included, but to be honest I don’t think that’s an accolade I’ve earned,” he said.

“That isn’t false modesty, it’s me being truthful. Because I don’t feel I’ve done anything out of the ordinary or worthy of it.”

Henderson went on to state his approach to inclusivity inside and outside football.

“I do believe when you see something that is clearly wrong and makes another human being feel excluded you should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.

“You also have a responsibility to educate yourself better around the challenges they experience.

“That’s where my own position on homophobia in football is rooted. Before I’m a footballer, I’m a parent, a husband, a son, a brother and a friend to the people in my life who matter so much to me.

“The idea that any of them would feel excluded from playing or attending a football match, simply for being and identifying as who they are, blows my mind.”

The Human Dignity Trust, which supports and defends the human rights of LGBT+ people globally, states that: “Saudi Arabia criminalises same-sex sexual activity between men and between women.

“The gender expression of trans people is also criminalised.

“Sentences include a maximum penalty of death. There is evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, and LGBT people are regularly subjected to discrimination and violence.”

It is this setting into which Henderson is moving, and it certainly doesn’t fit with the personal values he has stated in the past.

Ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar — a country that also criminalises LGBT+ people — Henderson said: "When you do things as a team or as players, I'm always conscious that no matter what we do that it will never be enough.

“You’ve got to be satisfied in your own mind and know what you’re doing you think is right and go with that.”

Henderson is now moving to work in a country that is completely at odds with his own stated views.

It remains to be seen whether he will be critical from the inside and make bold shows of solidarity with LGBT+ communities while working in Saudi Arabia.

Previous examples of sportspeople and public figures working in Saudi Arabia and being expected to raise issues suggest it is very unlikely, especially as most of the contracts signed even contain clauses preventing people from being publicly critical of the country or its government. Effectively buying their silence.

By just considering a move to Saudi Arabia, Henderson has already disappointed those who called him an ally.

“We have valued the allyship shown by Jordan Henderson,” said Liverpool’s LGBT+ fan group, Kop Outs.

“We are appalled and concerned that anyone might consider working for a sportswashing operation for a regime where women and LGBT+ people are oppressed and that regularly tops the world death sentence table.

“We hope that Jordan Henderson proves to be a man of his word and stays true to the values of our club, which so far he has been an absolute embodiment of.”

It is common for players to take a final payday, aiming to set themselves up following what is a relatively short career as a player.

A footballer at Henderson’s level will already have received life-changing sums of money for his work, but below the super-rich, any amount of money doubled can be life-changing once again.

Other players have moved to Saudi Arabia with less fuss. South American and African players in particular are often excused because they are from poor backgrounds and are just trying to earn as much as they can for their families, and often their communities, back home.

But to not have the same view on English players, especially as many of the working-class areas they come from are getting poorer and more impoverished under right-wing Tory governments, can itself be patronising to other countries and emit double standards.

And the UK itself is hardly a bastion of LGBT+ rights and solidarity. Neither are its media or its sports. Even on the left, the solidarity shown to the trans community especially has been disappointingly limp and non-committal amid genuine threats to people’s basic public safety.

Meanwhile, the UK also provides weapons to Saudi Arabia which have been used in its brutal attacks on Yemen, killing thousands of civilians and creating a humanitarian catastrophe.

The general rule seems to be that if there is money to be earned, even the worst atrocities and human rights abuses can be brushed under the carpet. 

Russia appears to be the only exception to this rule, but not before Russian money was replaced by money from Persian Gulf states.

Despite the Premier League’s adoption of the Rainbow Laces Campaign and other related initiatives, with encouragement from the UK Government it still allows its clubs to be taken over by ownership groups who don’t hold the same values. 

Again, the sums of money involved mean a blind eye is turned to issues these establishments claimed to support.

At the recent men’s and women’s World Cups, footballers have not been allowed to show solidarity with the LGBT community beyond the diluted, ambiguous messages sanctioned by Fifa.

Football’s governing bodies across the board pretend these are political issues rather than issues of basic human rights. This allows them to use the excuse that political messaging is not allowed, which then stifles players’ willingness to show solidarity.

When it comes down to it, football as a whole does not practice what it preaches on these matters. The support for LGBT communities, anti-racism campaigns, climate issues and other related campaigns are merely cosmetic.

With all of this in mind, it can seem unfair to put so much responsibility on the shoulders of one player, but amid all of this superficial posturing from leagues and governing bodies, Henderson’s concerns seemed real.

It is this genuine concern that makes his move to Saudi Arabia so disappointing for members of the community he has supported from his high-profile position, and so disappointing for allies of those communities. 

It might sadly make them more suspicious of similar acts in the future.

Hopefully, Henderson will continue to show and explain his support for the LGBT+ communities publicly and boldly at his new place of work. He can do that without directly criticising the regime, but he might need to do that too in order to repair an allyship that has already been damaged.