81 executions in Saudi Arabia on one day and horror of Russia's invasion of Ukraine buffet the Premier League
By Jack Bantock, CNN
Updated 0838 GMT (1638 HKT) March 18, 2022
(CNN)Two Premier League managers sat before the media to discuss a football match earlier this month. One faced questions on the sanctioning of a Russian oligarch, while the other was asked about the execution of 81 men in one day in Saudi Arabia.
Premier League matches might have huge global appeal and its broadcast deals are worth billions of dollars, but right now the organization finds itself at the eye of a moral, ethical, and political storm.That storm raged fiercely when Chelsea played Newcastle United on March 13, a game pitting two of the most controversial club ownerships in world football against each other. It's been dubbed the Premier League's «game of shame.»The fixture was played soon after the UK government sanctioned Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich as one of «Russia's wealthiest and most influential oligarchs, whose business empires, wealth and connections are closely associated with the Kremlin,» according to a UK government press release.Meanwhile, Newcastle's controversial takeover by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) last year also raised ethical concerns even before it was approved by the Premier League.Read MoreThe PIF — which has an 80% stake in the club as part of a three-party consortium — is a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the man who a US intelligence report named as responsible for approving the operation that led to the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Bin Salman has denied involvement in Khashoggi's murder.The day before the match between Chelsea and Newcastle, Saudi Arabia executed 81 men in the biggest mass execution in decades. Rights groups have
