Saudi-backed LIV Golf series faces 9/11 protest as it begins first tournament on US soil

By Eric Levenson and Hannah Sarisohn, CNN

Updated 0706 GMT (1506 HKT) July 1, 2022

Families of 9/11 victims speak out against LIV Golf tournament's arrival to the US.

(CNN)The Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series arrived in Oregon for its first tournament on US soil Thursday and faced protests from 9/11 survivors and victims' families who criticized golfers for working with Saudi Arabia, who they say was complicit in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

«Saudi Arabia is trying to sports-wash their reputation,» Sean Passananti, whose father died in the attacks, said in a press conference at the protest at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club outside Portland, Oregon. «Instead of admitting their support and funding of al Qaeda, they are trying through the honorable game of golf to buy legitimacy.»The allegations of Saudi government complicity with the attacks on September 11, 2001, have long been the subject of dispute in Washington. Fifteen of the 19 al Qaeda terrorists who hijacked four planes were Saudi nationals, but the Saudi government has denied any involvement in the attacks. The 9/11 Commission established by Congress said in 2004 that it had found «no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded» al Qaeda.Still, the victims' families have pushed for further disclosures, and last year the FBI released a document that details the FBI's work to investigate the alleged logistical support that a Saudi consular official and a suspected Saudi intelligence agent in Los Angeles provided to at least two hijackers.The 9/11 issue is just one of a number of criticisms of the LIV Golf series.Read MoreSaudi money, blockbuster names and a unique format: everything you need to know about the LIV