NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing

20/04/2026

CALL FOR NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES TO CLARIFY POSITION ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSING SAUSI REGIME WHICH OWNS NEWCASTLE UNITED

The letter from NUFCFAS draws particular attention to the final point that ALQST made in the meeting in Newcastle in February 2026, that the council should “liaise with the North East of England trade union movement to look at the implications of investments in Newcastle upon Tyne by companies such a NOON given the shocking details of mistreatment of workers in Saudi Arabia by the Newcastle United FC sponsor.”

NUFCFAS point out that, while at present Newcastle City Council has a stated policy against modern day slavery practices, it has never taken up this issue with the Saudi owned football club. This is compounded by the fact that Newcastle United sleeve sponsor Noon is accused of modern day slavery practices including the perpetration of institutional racism.

NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing have written to parties standing candidates in the upcoming Newcastle City Council elections, calling upon them to take action about human rights in Saudi Arabia if elected

16/04/2026

While journalists covering Newcastle United engage in a largely self-perpetuating cycle of endless speculation about Eddie Howe’s future, the future for Youssef Al-Manasif, Hassan Zaki Al-Faraj, Abdullah Al-Huwaiti, Jawad Qureiris, and Mahdi Al-Mohsen looks very bleak indeed.

And there is no future at all for Abdullah Al-Dirazi, Jalal Al-Labad, and Ali Al-Sbaiti.

MORE CHILD OFFENDERS EXECUTED BY OWNERS OF NEWCASTLE UNITED

02/04/2026

As NUFCFAS has pointed out previously, our club sponsor, Noon has been accused of using Modern Day slavery practices, which includes racism. Isn’t it a glaring contradiction that politicians like Kim McGuinness call for a racist fan to be banned yet says nothing about a sponsor which utilises racism in its business plan? Is she keeping quiet about Noon because it helps finance the club? The merchandising revenue of the club rose to £35 million in 2025 which means there are around 100,000 Newcastle fans walking round Tyneside with a Noon logo on the sleeve, literally advertising a racist company.

When racism raises its ugly head, fans rightly say “some things are more important than football” yet when it comes to talking about the Saudi regime owners of our club, their human rights abuses and their racism, we are told; “we just want to enjoy the football.”

Show Racism the Red Card, Kim McGuninness and True Faith amongst many others are right to condemn individual fans spouting racist abuse but when are they going to address the institutional and systemic racism of the owners of Newcastle United? Their power and wealth should not make us turn a blind eye to their racism.

The recent racist abuse suffered by a Sunderland player gives reminds us we should hold everyone accountable for discrimination, even sponsors and governments

30/03/2026

Peter Sagar highlights the case of women's rights advocate at the "Voices for Freedom" exhibition in Newcastle of the portraits 20 Human Rights Champions by Paul Piercy.

https://youtu.be/NO0w5KP6Dhc?si=Ei3XF4Cua_VD2SLe

See portraits here👉 https://www.voicesfortruthportraits.org/the-portraits and visit exhibition.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

25/03/2026

"Is Al Rumayyan concerned about building significant infrastructure in another country while the projects he oversees in Saudi Arabia fail to meet expectations? Would he even be allowed to start building a new stadium? If he is, then why hasn’t he?"

THE COMPLEX OWNERSHIP OF NEWCASTLE UNITED

17/03/2026

17/03/2026

SITUATION FOR SAUDI WOMEN - MYTH & REALITY
An Important issue for football fans for support & care about women's rights.

is owned by the Saudi regime who attempt to project a reforming image but what is the reality for Saudi women.

Between King Salman’s accession to power in January 2015 and December 2025, a period marked by a sharp increase in executions, 45 women were executed. This is nearly twice the number (23) executed during the previous eleven years (2004-2014).

"Three of these executions were carried out without being officially announced, raising the possibility of further unreported cases."

Supporters of the Saudi regime owners point to the fact Newcastle United Women's team as 'progress'. But what is it really?

Chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan is a minister in the Saudi government which presides over a system in which claims of gender-based violence, self-defence and exploitative labour conditions are routinely disregarded by the judiciary.

Rather than show solidarity with Saudi women and raise these issues with the club's owners which could make a difference, local politicians prefer to keep quiet and in some cases accept freebies from the Saudi state owned club which oppresses women.

"The fact that Saudi Arabia’s legal system lacks a formal penal code, and allows judges (exclusively male) to exercise wide discretion in sentencing, creates space for subjective and gendered interpretations of the law that reflect deeply patriarchal structures."

"The absence of fair trial guarantees means that mitigating factors such as histories of abuse, coercion or trafficking are rarely meaningfully examined."

Links to + ESOHR reports 👉 https://alqst.org/en/post/women-face-systemic-discrimination-over-executions-in-saudi-arabia-new-research-finds

Football fans who in their vast majority support women's rights should be concerned that owners of a
are using to sportswash away their horrific abuse and oppression of women in Saudi Arabia.

COME TO THE ONLINE MEETING THIS THURSDAY HOSTED BY NUFCFAS

Situation for Saudi Women - Myth vs Reality - NUFCFAS Online Meeting
Thursday, March 19 · 7:00 – 9:00pm

Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/xgg-zedj-pcq

15/03/2026

Women Facing the Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia - Report

".... many women sentenced to death (in Saudi Arabia) are survivors of long-term sexual or domestic abuse, yet these histories are rarely introduced in court or treated as mitigating factors during sentencing."

يفحص هذا التقرير استخدام السعوديّة لعقوبة الإعدام من منظورٍ جندري وتقاطعي، مع إيلاء اهتمامٍ خاص بالنساء المهاجرات.

15/03/2026

Football gives the states like Saudi Arabia soft power, giving them a seat at the table and makes people associate their state with football, rather than climate disasters, executions or death sentences for tweeting a message.

It is important that fans push back. They will care more about the club than the owners do and it is important that they say that this is not the club they want.

I also get the feeling that Newcastle United is not a priority from what I understand about the lack of investment. The Saudis are much more interested in FIFA and the World Cup, while any investment in the club and football more broadly depends on the price of oil and demand for oil is going down, so Newcastle United’s investment future is dependent on an unreasonable and unsustainable source of income.

An interview with Frank Huisingh from Fossil Free Football, discussing the organisation’s current efforts

12/03/2026

10/03/2026

What many fans outside of the Spanish state may not know is that FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are not owned by a foreign state, bloody dictatorship or multinational hedge fund. Both clubs operate under a fan ownership model that is reasonably common in Spain but completely unheard of at the top level of English football.

FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, our future opponents Athletic Club, and Osasuna — are all owned by groups of supporters called 'socios'.

NEWCASTLE UNITED V FC BARCELONA - AN ALTERNATIVE OWNERSHIP MODEL?