Howe defends Newcastle's winter break in Saudi Arabia

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has defended the club's decision to head back to Saudi Arabia for a controversial warm-weather training camp during the forthcoming break for the World Cup.

The Magpies, who travelled to Jeddah in January for similar reasons, will return to the Gulf state and its capital Riyadh between 4 and 10 December and face Pro League champions Al-Hilal in a friendly.

Confirmation of the trip will re-ignite criticism over the club’s links to the Middle East nation and its human rights record – Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund holds and 80 cent stake in the consortium which bought out Mike Ashley in October last year.

Asked about those concerns, head coach Howe said: "We’ve made a football decision. We’ve looked at the World Cup break, what’s the best thing for the team.

"The best thing for the team, I believe, is to take the team away like you would in pre-season, away from distractions, a chance to really train the group, enhance the team spirit with hopefully some good weather, so that’s what we’ve done.

"We’ve made it from a purely footballing backdrop."

Asked if he and his players would be doing any promotional work while they were away, and about Saudi Arabia’s hopes of hosting the 2030 World Cup finals, Howe insisted he was unaware in both instances.

Human rights campaigners Amnesty International, who have repeatedly accused the Saudis of using Newcastle to "sportswash" their reputation, urged the club to show solidarity with oppressed people.

Felix Jakens, Amnesty International UK’s head of priority campaigns, said: "It obviously wouldn’t be reasonable to expect football managers and players to reinvent themselves as human rights experts, but we’d still like to see key figures at Newcastle United using