Rebel tour derided by Rory McIlroy starts in Hertfordshire with Dustin Johnson the biggest name confirmedDespite being as obvious an attempt at sportswashing as one is ever likely to see, it is difficult to determine what, if anything, the much-publicised LIV Golf Series is likely to do to serve its intended purpose of presenting a more benign, warm and fuzzy image of its backers in Saudi Arabia.Still in its embryonic stages, with the first ball not scheduled to be struck until later this week in Hertfordshire, things started badly for the Saudi rebel tour and seem to have gone downhill quicker than a bathtub full of pensioners in an episode of Last of the Summer Wine. Continue reading...
There is very little competitive validity in the LIV Golf Series, with golfers willing pawns in the sportswashing exerciseThere is a key problem with the distribution of a $4m (£3.2m) first prize in a tournament that features a shotgun start. There will be no way of knowing if the winning putt at the Centurion Club on Saturday is to be holed on the 1st, 7th, 13th or any other green. Perhaps the conventional stroke-play format as used on mainstream tours is boring to some but at least people know where to be for the denouement.If this were the only potentially messy element of the LIV Golf Series, which makes its debut in Hertfordshire on Thursday, Greg Norman would have no...
Chelsea’s ownership is finally facing deserved scrutiny but there is a double standard when it comes to Newcastle’s ownersThe internet always knows what you want. This week a particular video clip has been popping up in those wormholes filled with adverts at the side of my screen, pressing its nose up against the glass for hours on end like an unhappy cat mewling at the window.Alan Shearer slams Roman Abramovich over Ukraine statement. There it is again. And here is the text of Alan’s actual slamming: “There’s still no condemnation from Roman or the club about what’s happening in Ukraine.” It is a robust and sincere statement, deserving of serious treatment. So let’s break this down. Continue reading...
The Saudi-backed 10-event international series will change the game if stars from the PGA and DP World Tours take partThe Saudi International may draw glances at present but it is not really a major problem for golf’s ecosystem. It is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Saudi Arabia’s ongoing, ultimate disruption plan.On Tuesday morning Greg Norman, the frontman for the golf operation of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, promised that the 10-event international series on the Asian Tour was “just the beginning”. Norman will believe this, even if the general tone of his carefully controlled press conference was uninspiring. Plenty of rhetoric, very little substance. “The most compelling indicator for me is the number of calls we...
Relief at end of Ashley era has been replaced by questions of morality about what it means now to support Newcastle UnitedOn Sunday, Newcastle United fans will rise early, that excitable match-day knot occupying stomachs across Tyneside, and 50,000 will march on St James’ Park to witness the post-Mike Ashley era begin.But for many, the discomfort runs deeper than apprehension over a journey into the football unknown. Last week’s takeover saw 80% of the club’s shares acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. True, the Premier League said it had received “legally binding” assurances that the Saudi state would not run the football club. But Saudi involvement has, quite rightly, brought enhanced scrutiny of the country’s human rights failings. Continue...