Qatari December is followed by Saudi January. The FIFA World Cup has given way to a month marked on the sporting agenda by events in Saudi Arabia, from the Dakar Rally to the Spanish and Italian Super Cups and the debut of Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nasr’s new signing from Riyadh. Strategy developed with the mission of public rehabilitation Mohammed bin Salmanthe crown prince who rules “de facto” the country.

Now, however, a spate of sporting events in the ultra-conservative kingdom has not generated the international stupor that the World Cup celebrations have. “Without a doubt, the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia is much worse than in Qatar,” he comments in a conversation with Independent Nicholas McGeehandirector of Fair/Square, one of the non-governmental organizations that has most extensively studied the baptized as “Sports Wash” (sports wash, in Spanish), the use of sporting events to launder a dictatorial regime.

The 37-year-old crown prince is haunted by the brutal crime of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who was killed and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. His involvement is confirmed by CIA documents. “This assassination really brought media attention to Saudi Arabia and Mohammed bin Salman, obviously in the most negative way. In the case of Saudi Arabia, their interest in sports is not primarily aimed at economic development, but at rehabilitating the image of their leader, ”adds the activist.

Following the somewhat veteran bid of their Qatari “brothers” with whom they share, at least officially, an interpretation of Islam, the Al Saud monarchy has developed an aggressive policy in recent years to bring sporting events to the kingdom. and break into the capital of European football clubs. They did it first in Spain, with Sports Union of Almería -its owner Turki al Sheikh belongs to the direct circle of bin Salman- and a year ago they repeated the feat with their landing from Newcastle United.

Piqué commissions

The Dakar Rally, which hosts the kingdom until this Sunday, has joined the Spanish Super Cup celebrations ahead of the Italian one next week since yesterday Wednesday. Four years ago, the Saudi regime entered into an agreement with the Spanish Football Federation to host six championships worth 240 million euros. In April last year, it was reported that Kosmos, Gerard Pique’s company that acted as an intermediary for the contract, received a commission of 24 million euros.

A controversy, which, however, did not change one iota the plans of the federation, which he leads. Luis Rubiales. The pact is still in force, and, as happened with the World Cup, the calls of human rights organizations fell on deaf ears. From Amnesty International, they denounce that Rubiales has not responded to five invitations made in recent years to “transmit his concerns about human rights in this country and in the region.” “This week, the organization sent him another letter with a proposal for a new meeting to resolve these issues,” they specify.

Cristiano, last claim

The accumulation of tournaments, from football to golf, coincides with the coup d’état when Al-Nasr signed Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese will earn around €400m in his dual capacity as a player and ambassador for the Saudi bid to host the 2030 World Cup, another aspiration copied from the Qataris and that will be in the company of Egypt and Greece. The football player was introduced in early January in Riyadh to the usual fanfare of the Persian Gulf.

Cristiano has been appointed ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s candidacy for the 2030 World Cup.

In his coming out, Cristiano appeared next to the tourism brand of an Arab country that, after decades of isolation, is trying to develop tourism while also looking for alternatives to its eternal dependence on oil. A long-term plan that even belied the terrible international image of bin Salman, the son of the current monarch, who led a palace coup that in 2017 reversed the traditional rotation of the royal family and catapulted him to the front lines. , succession. His ascension to the throne will be a milestone: he will be the first Saudi king of a generation other than the founder’s descendants, and with a horizon of decades to come..

“Obviously, Saudi Arabia cannot pursue its economic and strategic plans while bin Salman’s reputation is as negative as it is. And sports are an unusual way to get the world’s attention for all the right reasons. They saw it with Abu Dhabi and Qatar, and that’s what they’re doing with Saudi Arabia,” emphasizes McGeehan, who credits the magnitude of the buzz generated by the World Cup in Qatar to its relevance. “The World Cup is the event that generates the most attention and attention around the world, certainly more than any other type of tournament,” he emphasizes.

“The signing of Cristiano Ronaldo by Al-Nasr is yet another example of Saudi Arabia’s image laundering policy,” denounces Dana Ahmed, Amnesty Middle East researcher. “It is very likely that the Saudi authorities will promote the presence of Ronaldo in the country in order to divert attention from the appalling human rights situation in the country,” he adds. The organization suggests that “instead of praising the advantages of Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo could use his significant public influence to draw attention to human rights problems in the country.”

Restrictions of women

Saudi Arabia is ranked 127th in the Gender Equality Index out of 142 countries by the World Economic Forum. Despite recent advances such as the ability to drive, discrimination against Saudi women remains a stifling outcome, Amnesty denounces. They cannot make many personal decisions without the approval of the “mehrem”, the male guardian. They cannot dress freely except in an abaya, a black tunic that barely reveals a small part of their face, and they cannot enter certain public places that are only accessible to men.

Saudi women cannot marry without the permission of their father or guardian, and forced marriages continue to take place. In addition, a woman who chooses to leave her home, even if abused, may be judged for disobedience by her “guardian”. And of course, it is forbidden to criticize such a situation and protect the rights of women; dozens of women and men have been imprisoned for this.

Horrible history of human rights

Despite attempts to sell its reformist plans that allowed women to drive or play sports, Saudi Arabia continues to cast a long shadow: it is a leader in the death penalty – murder, rape or drug smuggling are crimes punishable by the scaffold. , although they are not executed publicly, as they were a few years ago; and the suppression of any manifestation of dissent is severely persecuted. In just one day last year, 81 people were sentenced to death, many of whom faced grossly unfair trials, Amnesty recalls. A total of 128 people were executed in 2022.

Riyadh has been directly involved in the war in Yemen, which has claimed the lives of 233,000 civilians since the start of the Saudi coalition bombing in 2015. According to the ILGA platform report, Saudi Arabia is one of eleven countries in the world where homosexuality can be punishable by death. Although penalties for homosexual relationships are not enshrined in legislation, in the country sharia (Islamic law) as a legal basis and in it they are strictly prohibited. Four years ago, the country’s intelligence services classified homosexuality, along with feminism and atheism, as “extremist ideas” that should be punished with jail and flogging.