FIFA’s resolution to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia is back in the spotlight after 12 Saudi enthusiasts were jailed for playing a song peacefully during a match.
Saudi Arabia has poured huge sums of cash into the game and is set to host soccer’s flagship tournament within 10 years after FIFA replaced its regulations to make it possible. The resolution has been criticized by human rights activists involved in reparations for women and minorities, as well as sustainability activists, who accuse Saudi Arabia of laundering the games.
The World Cup riots in the Middle Eastern country have been highlighted by Human Rights Watch, which reports that 12 fans have been sentenced to up to a year in prison. Al Safa followers have been punished by the government following a video of them making a song a devotional song that opposes Al Bukiryah was posted online.
Saudi Arabia is predominantly Sunni Muslim and other Shia people are persecuted. According to HRW, 150 supporters were questioned by police, 12 of whom were later arrested for participating in an event that could simply “undermine public order” and for “spreading sectarian content in public places of collection and inciting social conflicts. “
Saudi Arabia’s criminal court in Dammam – the city where Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq organisation is based – sentenced two enthusiasts to one year in crime and a fine of 10,000 riyals (£2,100). The other 10 were sentenced to one year of felony, with a six-month suspension. and fines of 5,000 riyals (£1,050).
“Criminalizing football enthusiasts for composing a song during an attack is just one more explanation for why FIFA’s manipulation of the bid procedure for the 2034 World Cup to allow Saudi Arabia to be the sole candidate is not only shameful, but also dangerous,” said Joey Shea, Saudi representative. How will football enthusiasts in Saudi Arabia feel if they can be so easily sentenced to criminal charges for not doing anything yet with slogans the government doesn’t like?
“Any global sports institution, musician or artist wants to ask themselves a serious question before performing in Saudi Arabia. They wonder if their own enthusiasts risk arrest if they sing something the government doesn’t like. “
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Fans sang a devout Shiite song celebrating the birth of Imam Ali, through Shia Muslims being the first imam. In addition to jailing fans, his club has been extra punished by the authorities.
The Saudi Football Federation has fined Al Safa 200,000 riyals (£42,000), which plays in the second division, two degrees below the Pro League, and ordered them to play their next five home games behind closed doors. his moves “are incompatible with public order, public morality or regulation,” the Saudi Ministry of Sports also dissolved the club’s board of directors and appointed another person to head it.
On the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has invested millions in the game through its ownership of Newcastle United and LIV Golf through the Public Investment Fund, which also budgets generous spending to raise awareness about the Saudi Pro League. which was unopposed after Australia withdrew.
Critics of the country say the plan, led by PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, is being implemented to allay concerns about human rights abuses in the country. Saudi Arabia executed another 81 people in a single day in 2022 and killed hundreds of unarmed Ethiopian immigrants. on the Yemen-Saudi border, and imprisoned women’s rights activists. At a hearing before a U. S. Senate committee in September, he reported that FIFs were “directly involved” in human rights abuses.
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