By Kieran Maguire

19th Sep, 2023 | 12:44pm

Kieran Maguire: Newcastle United must cut Saudi ties after new protests

Newcastle United need to decide whether or not to cut ties with the Saudi Arabian national team after protests were held at St James’ Park.

That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the pros and cons of Newcastle hosting Saudi international matches.

The Magpies agreed to host two Saudi Arabian international matches at St James’ Park in September.

However, as reported by Chronicle Live, Newcastle faced protests outside the ground from fans angered by sportswashing and the club’s ties to Saudi Arabia.

Newcastle’s owners, PIF, claimed they were not tied to the Saudi government when the 2021 takeover was being completed.

However, Maguire believes Newcastle hosting the two international matches may have been included as a ‘thank you’ to their new Saudi owners.

“I think the big issue for Newcastle United will be the levels of attendance at the Saudi Arabian international matches,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.

“They were in the single-figure thousands.

“I think hosting those matches will have been a way of saying thank you to the Saudi investors after the takeover.

“But a decision will have to be made on a commercial basis whether Newcastle should continue with this approach or not.

“I suspect from a financial point of view that there has been relatively little gained unless they were given a significant hosting fee by the Saudi international football team.

“If that is the case, it could make everything else redundant in terms of making a decision.“

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