Mainz fans protest Newcastle's Saudi-backed ownership

Even though their fans didn't like the idea,

will still play Newcastle United in a pre-season game. Before the 2022–23 season, Newcastle will play Mainz and 1860 Munich in

.

But fans of those clubs haven't been happy about the games because

Newcastle

's owners are from those clubs. The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns 80% of the club, is part of the group that bought Newcastle last October. Both

's record on human rights and its role in the war in Yemen are very worrying.

But Mainz says they can't afford to cancel the match against Newcastle because they need to get ready for the Bundesliga season and because they have a contract to keep. "A friendly against a big English club is first and foremost a really good test for us," said Mainz chairman Stefan Hofmann in a statement in which the team confirmed they had talked more with Newcastle and planned to meet with fans. "It's also important for preparing our team for the season.

"We thought about our options, and since we didn't have a better opponent of this level available, we decided to play this game. We didn't expect some fans to act the way they did. We respect them and are sorry that these worries have come up because it's our job to start the new season with our fans as one big group.

Christian Heidel

, a board member for Mainz, said, "From a football point of view, we can't miss this friendly.

"Some fans have asked for a one-sided cancellation of the match, but that's not possible. If we don't meet our contractual obligations, it could have serious legal and financial consequences for us, so we're going to stick to the agreement."

Bo Svensson, the coach of Mainz, had already addressed the worries by telling Bild, "On the one hand, I can see the arguments. But when it comes to football, things get blown out of proportion and become very big problems." Svensson asked about the PIF's shares in Disney, "How far are we going? Will we also stop taking our kids to see Disney movies?"

Michael Kollner

, the coach of 1860, told db24, "You always have to be a little careful when talking about morals. I find that hard to do. Everyone has something to offer. "We haven't always done everything right, and teams are still playing against us to get ready.

"Someone with the money he has bought Newcastle. I'm not sure if we always have the right to judge things, especially when we have so many different problems in Europe. Unity doesn't look the same. I'm in charge of the sport, and I'm glad we're having this test match."

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