Crystal Palace fans hold up banner calling for the EPL to take action against NUFC

A photo went viral on social media yesterday showing travelling Crystal Palace fans holding up a banner denouncing Newcastle United’s ownership by the Saudi State and calling for the Premier League to investigate it

The club, owned by Saudi Arabia’s lucrative sovereign wealth fund, has allowed them to propel to new heights of success.

However, critics have accused the Arab state of using NUFC as a means to pursuing what is described as “sportswashing” that is the usage of football as a vehicle to pursue political and governmental goals, in this case promoting the Saudi State, which functions as an absolute monarchy under an ultra-strict Wahabist interpretation of Islam.

Examples of what is accused of being sportswashing include Saudi Arabia holding an international exhibition match at St. James’ Park, the usage of a Saudi company to sponsor NUFC, an away shirt tailored after Saudi Arabia’s design and arranged transfer deals with Saudi clubs to buy Newcastle players in order to bypass financial fair play rules.

However, it is believed to be unlikely that the deal will be investigated, not least because the kingdom has since consolidating itself to be the new mega money centre of world football, having courted big name superstars such as Ronaldo, Neymar and Jordan Henderson, and is clearly being embraced by global football authorities in the process.