Newcastle’s pre-season friendly against Mainz will go ahead as planned despite calls from fans of the Bundesliga club for it to be cancelled amid accusations of “sportswashing”.
Mainz have expressed their “regret” at the unrest the fixture has caused as a result of the Premier League outfit’s 80 per cent ownership by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but has described pulling out as “unthinkable”.
Newcastle are due to face the German outfit on July 18 three days after playing 1860 Munich during their training camp in Austria. However, the game was called into question after a Mainz fans group urged the club to fulfil its mission statement to tackle “exclusion and discrimination” amid disquiet over the fixture as a result of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
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However, confirming that it would be played as scheduled, chairman Stefan Hofmann told Mainz’s official website: “We didn’t expect the reaction from some fans in this form. We respect this and regret that this has caused irritation because we see it as our responsibility to start the season with all the fans as a cohesive unit.”
Sport director Christian Heidel added: “From a sporting perspective, we cannot do without this test match.
“A unilateral cancellation by us, as demanded by some fans, is unthinkable, as this could have serious legal and economic consequences for us and due to the contractual obligations fundamentally stand by our contractual agreements.”
The call to cancel had come in an open letter to the club from Supporters Mainz E.V.
They wrote: “Newcastle United was acquired by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF, which is chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in late 2021.
“The motive for this was probably less the enthusiasm for football or the identification with the club Newcastle United than the so-called ‘sportwashing’ – the attempt to polish the image of Saudi Arabia by entering international football.
“We recall that Saudi Arabia is not only an absolute monarchy in which democratic participation of its citizens has no place, but a country in which fundamental human rights are systematically disregarded.
“Suppression of freedom of expression and religion, persecution of homosexuals, oppression of women, use of caning and the death penalty are part of the laws there.
“Newcastle United is…
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