the times | Tuesday March 15 2022 65
Sport
I
t was deeply uncomfortable
sitting in on the press conference
at Stamford Bridge on Sunday
and it had nothing to do with a
few feet of the space available to
reporters having been eaten up by the
expansion of the away dressing room.
It had everything to do with the pink
cheeks of Eddie Howe as he was
asked about the fact that, the day
before, Saudi Arabia had announced
the execution of 81 men.
Human rights observers claim
many of those killed had been
tortured beforehand and their trials
lacked transparency. Saudi’s public
investment fund has an 80 per cent
stake in Newcastle United, but the
club’s manager steadfastly refused to
comment on the mass execution. He
would stick, he said, to matters on the
pitch. Newcastle fans complain that it
is unfair to put questions about the
human rights record of what are,
effectively, his employers to a man
paid to concentrate on such matters
as in which minute it would be
appropriate to introduce Allan Saint-
Maximin.
However, this was no ordinary
press conference. It was the first game
played at Stamford Bridge since the
Russian invasion of Ukraine and
subsequent sanctions imposed by the
British government against Roman
Abramovich, who bought Chelsea 19
years ago. The backdrop was all about
morality and responsibility, crime and
punishment, ethics and business.
Thomas Tuchel was prepared for
the difficult questions and trod, very
well, the fine line between how
football pales into insignificance while
acknowledging how the sport can
bring respite in times of despair. The
Chelsea head coach, could, if he had
chosen to, have refused to answer
anything not related to how his team
had struggled without their first-Howe is just as complicit in
sportswashing as his bosses
Newcastle manager’s
evasiveness about club
owners’ human rights
record not acceptable,
writes Alyson Rudd
nation’s social history, then their
ownership cannot be at the mercy of
market forces, cannot be ego projects,
cannot be tools for sportswashing.
Until now the primary concern of
the fit and proper ownership test has
been about the desire to protect clubs
from false financial promises. The
plight of Chelsea has shifted the
boundaries. Clubs patently need
owners who are not shady, whose
motives are not clinically political.
Perhaps the only way for this to be
close to achievable is for there to be a
moral arbiter on an adjudication
panel that assesses every takeover.
This would need to be either someone
with national treasure status — which
is patently unworkable — or a lawyer
from a human rights watchdog. Even
then, it would be immensely
complicated.
Many West Ham United fans
remain embarrassed at their owners’
porn industry background and lack of
empathy with supporters. The
leveraged buyout of the distant
Glazers is anathema to plenty of
Manchester United fans. Those who
have seen families destroyed by
gambling addiction would argue that
clubs should not be funded by people
linked to betting companies.
Anyone who buys a football club
needs to be rich, and the rich get rich
enough to buy a piece of sporting
history by being ruthless. If we
handed part ownership to the
supporters, would that remove moral
headaches? After all, the vast
majority of Newcastle fans
support their ownership model.
Howe may have read how
Boris Johnson is planning a trip
to Saudi Arabia, keen for a way
to replace oil supplies from
Russia, and wonder why on
earth he should enter the
moral maze when the
prime minister is
skulking near its exit
door. But if that is the
case, then he should
indicate it is on his
radar. Humming
loudly to drown out
reasonable questions
about lives lost is not
acceptable.choice wing backs yet had won
courtesy of a spark of genius. Instead,
he spoke like a man who has done his
homework, given the sanctions deep
thought and come to the conclusion
that his is, still, a privileged position.
Howe, by way of contrast, spoke
like a man who does not listen to the
news, read the papers or dwell upon
deeper questions of personal
responsibility. Had the former
Bournemouth manager been in situ
during the sale of Newcastle by Mike
Ashley to the Saudi sovereign wealth
fund then there would be more
sympathy for his refusal to engage.
But the 44-year-old chose to join a
project that has at its core the role of
sportswashing. By insisting that he
will speak only about the football,
Howe, whether he likes it or not, is
part of that sportswashing.
Let’s not dwell on the murder of
Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident Saudi
journalist, nor the execution of the 81,
let’s chat about how Jacob Murphy
should have won a penalty and the
way the team is steaming up the table.
This is what sportswashing is
designed to do, replace uncomfortable
conversations with the joy and angst
of goals and glory. Howe needs to at
least convey that he has engaged with
the wider debate even if he does not
want to share his personal beliefs.
It was simpler for Tuchel, of course,
because he was reacting to unfolding
events. The government has taken
action, denounced Abramovich and
imposed sanctions so that the
German has no need to speak of
why he joined Chelsea in the first
place. History has marched on.
Russia had not invaded Ukraine
when he became manager in
January 2021 and the club is
at present linked with a
variety of potential
owners including,
ironically, the Saudi
Media Group. And
so it rumbles on, this
vexed question of
who is fit to own a
football club.
If clubs are special
assets, with deep-rooted
links to their local
communities, and ourN
Molly Hudson
A small video shown on the big screen
of the Emirates stadium reminded
everyone of the joy of being a football
fan. Standing in the Arsenal dressing
room was Maria Petri, above, who has
been a fan since the 1960s, clutching
an old ticket she had retained from
April 1984 when Arsenal played
Tottenham Hotspur in the Canon
League Division One. Maria, who was
born in 1939, is a regular at men’s,
women’s and under-23s games, and
has met several first-team players.Alyson Rudd
In difficult times we
need cult heroes to
offer respite. In the
second half at
Stamford Bridge,
with the home
crowd quiet and
tense, Antonio
Rüdiger, left, pulled out
his party piece, an impersonation of a
dressage pony. The defender ran with
his knees almost touching his chin as
he shepherded out a ball. The fans
laughed and the gloom lifted.Alyso
In di
nee
off
sec
Sta
wit
crow
ttense,
RRüdiger,
his party piece, an imJames Gheerbrant
I’ve enjoyed watching
the flourishing of
Martin Odegaard,
right, and Kai
Havertz, two hugely
talented players who
have overcome
adversity. Odegaard
joined Real Madrid
aged 16, Havertz went
to Chelsea at 21 for
£71 million. Lately
they’ve been two of the
finest players in the
Premier League,
playing with grace,
skill and maturity.TIM GOODE/PA