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7th November 2023
07:12pm GMT
Borussia Dortmund's fans threw fake bars of gold onto the pitch and held up a banner with an anti-FIFA message during their Champions League fixture.
Dortmund were leading 1-0 at the time thanks to Nicklas Fullkrug's first goal in the competition for the club.
During the early stages of the second half, supporters threw fake gold bars and tennis balls onto the pitch and held up a banner which read: "You don’t care about the sport all you care about is the money".
The Dortmund fans had a banner saying “you dont care about the sport. All you care about is Money!😳
— Sacred CR7 (@SacredCR7) November 7, 2023
What a statement #BVBNEW #UCL pic.twitter.com/eYffzJKefi
The banner is in reference to FIFA's recent decision to award Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup.
Saudi Arabia are almost certainly set to host the tournament after Australia, their only other competitor, pulled out of the running.
Their protest was also extremely poignant, given that they were playing Newcastle.
Newcastle are owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, who have an 80 per cent majority take in the club but have come under fire from multiple humans rights charities for it's close association to the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Salman.
At the time of their takeover in October 2021, Newcastle gave the Premier League "legally binding assurances" that the Saudi government would have no say in the day-to-day running of the club.
In their first full year of ownership, Newcastle secured a spot in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.
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