Hosting major sporting events is a major part of Saudi Arabia’s “sportswashing” strategy, an effort to distract from its serious human rights abuses by taking over events that celebrate human achievement. Buying a Premier League club is perhaps Saudi leaders’ most high-profile effort so far to launder their appalling human rights record...

But football fans need to look past the glamour of these events and the riches that Newcastle hopes will be invested in its team...

Global football’s governing body, FIFA, has a Human Rights Policy, and a robust due diligence should have been conducted on the owners and directors before Saudi Arabia was allowed to buy the Newcastle club...

For those who call football “the beautiful game,” the Saudi’s Newcastle takeover is a wake-up call. Fans, athletes, and journalists who don’t want their sport and favorite clubs tarnished with ugly human rights abuses should demand that the English FA and the Premier League adopt and immediately implement a human rights policy.