Ant and Dec join Newcastle fans at St James’ Park for first match after £300m takeover

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Newcastle United fans are paying tribute to the club’s new Saudi owners by covering their heads in dish cloths following the club’s takeover – but activists are also protesting outside the team’s grounds over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.   

Scores of fans were seen to be in high spirits with many wearing outfits referencing the Premier League‘s richest owners following the £300million takeover. 

Some were seen sporting black and white striped gowns and Newcastle United scarves covering their heads. 

But before the 4.30pm kick off against Tottenham, protesters were spotted outside the 52,000-seater St James’ Park stadium amid strong opposition to the takeover over Saudi human rights abuses and the killing of journalist Mr Khashoggi in 2018.   

There has been strong opposition since the £300million takeover due to human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. 

A van was spotted driving around the ground with an image of Khashoggi and Mohammed bin Salman – the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.

The message on the side vehicle read: ‘Jamal Khashoggi… Murdered 2.10.18’.      

Newcastle is launching a new era amid accusations that the club’s capture by a consortium in which Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has an 80 per cent stake is a ‘sportswashing’ exercise designed to deflect attention from the Middle East nation’s human rights record despite assurances of separation between PIF and the state.

Amnesty International UK’s CEO Sacha Deshmukh said agency: ‘Whatever the result on Sunday, we wish Newcastle fans and their team well, but we remain deeply concerned about how our football clubs are being used for sportswashing.

‘Football clubs being purchased for the purpose of trying to distract from serious human rights violations isn’t confined to Newcastle, and sportswashing isn’t confined to football – but the Saudi takeover has obviously brought the issue of human rights and football governance into sharp relief.

‘Despite assurances about a supposed separation from the Saudi state, ownership of St James’ Park is now very much about image management for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his government.’

Asked if he was to remain in post how comfortable he would be with those human rights issues, Bruce said: ‘Look, as far as I’m concerned, I’m sure people will look into that. That’s for politicians and all the rest of it to decide on that.

‘It’s a great thing for the club of Newcastle and for me, the city too. I’ve seen the transformation in Manchester – not just for the football club, but for the city too – and I hope for the area and for the people and the supporters that there are exciting times ahead.’

Steve Bruce is taking charge of his 1,000th game as a manager as the Magpies host Tottenham, but is widely expected to be replaced following the takeover of the club.

Bruce took charge of his boyhood club in 2019, but was given little opportunity to refresh the squad under former owner Mike Ashley, while also taking much of the blame for a lack of progress on the pitch.

‘It’s been tough,’ Alex Bruce told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily Podcast.

‘I wouldn’t sit here and lie and say it hasn’t, it’s been really tough to watch the criticism.

‘Since he took the job, I think the lack of respect that has been shown, considering he’s done 1,000 games, has been unbelievable.’

A Saudi Arabian-backed group completed their takeover of the club on October 7, sparking immediate speculation Bruce – who has guided Newcastle to 13th and 12th-placed finishes – would be replaced after a winless start to the campaign.

Links with Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, ex-Chelsea manager Frank Lampard and former Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre continue, but Bruce remains in post for now.

Despite being a boyhood fan himself, Bruce has never been a popular appointment among the St James’ Park faithful, with Alex Bruce saying his father had always faced an uphill battle.

‘He knew that was going to be the case from the day he took the job,’ he said.

‘He had an owner who was trying to sell the club, he had an owner who didn’t really want to put any money of his own into the club for a number of reasons, he could only use the money that the club generated and with the pandemic there wasn’t any money there.

‘He tried to strengthen the squad in the last window. They desperately needed reinforcements in defensive areas, I think he was very frustrated he couldn’t do that, so there’s been a number of things that have made the job difficult.

‘He has been the fall guy. The amount of times I’ve said to him, ‘Why don’t you let someone else do the press?’ And he just says, ‘Because I’m the manager, it’s my responsibility’.’

Alex Bruce argued that his father’s record compared fairly well alongside Rafa Benitez’s achievement of 10th and 13th-placed finishes, questioning why the two men are regarded differently.

‘Dad’s finished round about similar and yet one’s been lauded as a messiah and the other one’s been battered since the moment he walked in the door, which has been the most difficult thing for me to watch because he’s a Geordie,’ he said.