Newcastle United supporters were today slammed by an MP as 'numpties' for 'dancing around in cod Arabic headdresses' outside St James' Park after their football club's controversial Saudi-backed takeover.
John Nicolson, Scottish National Party MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, told a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing in London today that the fans 'just did not care what Saudi Arabia's human rights abuse was'.
He said his thoughts were with Hatice Cengiz, the widow of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the scenes of celebrations since the takeover was announced on October 7 must have been 'heart-rending'.
Around 80 per cent of the money for the £305million takeover has been provided by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), whose chairman is the kingdom's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The PIF is run by 36-year-old Mr Bin Salman, the kingdom's de-facto ruler – and he has been accused of ordering the kidnap, torture and assassination of Mr Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018, but denies any involvement.
Meanwhile it emerged today that anti-racism organisation Kick It Out is planning talks with Newcastle to discourage fans from wearing tea towels on their heads in celebration of the club's new Saudi owners.
Hundreds of supporters donned home-made head-dresses for the PIF's first game in charge against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in a spectacle that dismayed Kick It Out and influential Football Association figures.
Kick It Out has been collating reports of anti-discriminatory behaviour from the weekend's fixtures, and are waiting to discover if there were any specific complaints of incidents at Newcastle before contacting the club.
But MailOnline understands that the Premier League has not had a single complaint about the matter. It is not yet clear whether any complaints have been made to Kick It Out, the Football Association or Newcastle United.
Kick It Out is now likely to offer education workshops in Newcastle to fans to explain how wearing tea towels in an attempt to impersonate Arabs could be considered racist, offensive, or culturally insensitive. Senior figures at the FA are also concerned by the situation, and may become involved if it is not dealt with by the club.
The foreign takeover of yet another Premier League team has seen Newcastle become one of the richest clubs in the world because the PIF has assets of almost £300billion. This is expected to increase to £730billion by 2025.
Critics had tried to block the move so 'human rights issues' in the Gulf state could be addressed, and Amnesty International said the takeover was directly linked to the Saudi government.
During the DCMS hearing today, Mr Nicolson spoke to two witnesses over the media coverage of major sporting events - News Media Coalition director Andrew Moger and BBC Sport director Barbara Slater.
The MP said: 'There were Newcastle United supporters who just did not care what Saudi Arabia's human rights abuse was.
'I am trying to imagine what it must be like to be Jamal Khashoggi's widow, when her husband has been chopped up and murdered on the instructions of the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia and she sees numpties dancing around in cod Arabic headdresses outside Newcastle United. On a personal basis for her that must be heart-rending.'
He added: 'Journalists who pointed that out suffered enormous abuse. It made me as an outsider think, there was nobody who could have taken over that club, no matter the level of evil of the person who took over that club, that would have resulted in anything other than celebration for large numbers of these Newcastle United supporters. That's a kind of sickness at the heart of football isn't it?'
The MPs raised concerns that the human rights abuses associated with the Saudi regime have not been properly aired in sports coverage on the BBC, and Mr Nicholson questioned Ms Slater on the issue.
He asked her: 'Do you think the sports coverage did enough to highlight that this club was being bought over by somebody who routinely kills journalists, a country which murders homosexuals and a ruler who was responsible for the mutilation of and murder of a prominent journalist?'
But Ms Slater replied: 'It is essential those stories are told and I believe those stories were told across the BBC.'
Conservative MP Julian Knight, the chairman of the DCMS committee, also spoke out today and took issue with comments made by Match of the Day pundit and Newcastle legend Alan Shearer.
Shearer, who made 405 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 206 goals, told the BBC website on October 7, following the takeover: 'The fans are loyal, they love their football club and their life is Newcastle United.
'It all depends on whether Newcastle win on a Saturday. They work hard all week to spend their money on the club, so I understand why there is so much happiness in the city today and I feel exactly the same.
'Our fans also need to know that they matter, because they haven't for 14 years, so today is special for them.'
And he added: 'I understand that questions have to be asked about the human rights issues, it's really important that we don't brush them under the carpet. We have to educate ourselves on that and this will highlight that even more... but already they are massively invested in this country and other sports.
'It is a huge issue but it's not Newcastle United fans' fault - they don't get a say in their football club and how it's run.'
But that argument did not impress Mr Knight, who told Ms Slater today: 'I was quite interested by some of the coverage by some of your pundits on the BBC, namely to be Alan Shearer.
He said it was a great day, effectively, for Newcastle fans and effectively… they needed to educate themselves on the human rights issues when it comes to Saudi Arabia. What part of education do people need to understand when a journalist is cut up and put in a suitcase?'
Ms Slater replied: 'Across the BBC, particularly our news colleagues and those in our sports news department will absolutely report on issues just as you have mentioned and including human rights. The BBC does not shy away from telling the full story.'
But Mr Knight was not finished, adding: 'Was Mr Shearer's unalloyed joy expressed for the BBC News website, was that tasteful, was that exactly where the BBC wants to sit in terms of the Saudi takeover?'
Ms Slater replied: 'Clearly Alan Shearer has an extraordinary record with that club and he did discuss, as you say, he did not shy away from the fact there was human rights issues, he absolutely acknowledged that. This was in the interview that I saw, it might have been a different one to one you saw.'
The sight of many members of the Toon Army wearing tea towels took place at the Premier League's No Room for Racism campaign, which will run over the next fortnight with fans being asked to challenge and report any incidents of discrimination.
The issue of cultural appropriation has become a major talking point in UK sport this season.
Premiership rugby club Wasps called for a nationwide ban on the wearing of Native American headdresses by Exeter Chiefs fans earlier this month.
Exeter are refusing to drop the Chiefs moniker despite major American franchises undergoing rebrands, including the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians.
Newcastle lost the match 3-2 on Sunday and sit second bottom of the Premier League, having collected just three points from their opening eight games.