St James' Park protest plans go public ahead of Saudi double-header

As reported by the i paper, protest group 'NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing' are planning to stage a protest against Newcastle's Saudi-backed owners ahead of Saudi Arabia's friendly at St James' Park on Friday.

It was announced over the summer that the stadium would play host to two games, seeing KSA take on Costa Rica (Friday) and South Korea (Tuesday).

The decision was met with a lot of frustration from a number of supporters, with many believing it opens up the club and its fans to easy and avoidable criticism.

NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing are planning to stage a protest next to the Alan Shearer statue 45 minutes before Friday's game, starting at 7.15pm. The group asked the FA and council to cancel both games, but those requests were rejected.

A spokesperson for the group claimed that this is 'the final nail in the coffin in the idea that PIF’s ownership of Newcastle United isn’t about promoting Saudi Arabia to the world'.

With some fans likely to turn up in their Newcastle tops, or even going as far to buy Saudi Arabian shirts or flags, it's not a great look for the club and will cause a lot of debate.