Newcastle’s new kit nods to Saudi Arabia

Berlin (dpa) – Newcastle United football fans and human rights activists are protesting against the alleged new away jersey of the English Premier League club. Accordingly, the white and green shirt is strikingly similar to that of the national team of Saudi Arabia.

Leaked images of the shirt are circulating on the Internet, which the English “Daily Mail” described as genuine based on its own information. The jersey is white, with a green and white collar, a green stripe down the sleeves and the club’s logo is also green and white.

Protest against possible new away kit

The Magpies were acquired last autumn by a consortium with Saudi participation for £305m. Due to the similarity with the national colors of the Gulf state, Newcastle and the new majority owner Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are probably speculating on significant growth in jersey sales in the country, which is repeatedly accused of serious human rights violations.

“Tell me this isn’t true. Just when we’ve found a way to live with reality something like this comes along to remind us. Disgusting,” one fan tweeted. Another wrote, “Sorry but that sucks. Just because we belong to them doesn’t mean we should look like them.” On the other hand, there was also a lot of encouragement. In previous years, the away kits had been black, blue or grey.

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