Mainz supporters issue statement asking club to cancel friendly with Newcastle United

A supporter group of Bundesliga side Mainz has released a statement asking their club to cancel a scheduled pre-season friendly against Newcastle United.

For every team, pre-season is an essential period in which to gain conditioning and hone tactics for the upcoming year. Top sides prefer to play teams from abroad as part of summer tours rather than facing teams from the same league.

In Newcastle’s case, this pre-season is vital. The Magpies have already welcomed three new signings to the squad. They need to integrate them into the team successfully.

The Toon Army have had a whirlwind year. Following their acquisition by the Saudi consortium in October 2021, the side bounced back from deep in the relegation zone to a finish that no one would have predicted. But, with new owners comes new pressure.

2022/23 will be their first full season under the ownership of the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Although they will not expect league titles immediately, Eddie Howe’s side will carry the expectation of bettering their 11th-place finish last season.

Unfortunately, the owners of Newcastle are also a source of controversy. Even in pre-season, the Northeast side cannot get away from it.

Mainz fans ask the club to cancel Newcastle friendly

A Mainz supporters group wrote their team a statement asking them not to play Newcastle United. In a passionate letter, the group said that the Saudi acquisition of the Premier League side was another case of “sportswashing” from the Gulf kingdom.

They then went on to explain Saudi Arabia’s disregard for the human rights of its citizens. Mainz fans branded the country as “an absolute monarchy in which democratic participation of its citizens has no place”.

Mainz supporters’ statement quickly turned their attention back to Newcastle. They called out their opponents for taking the support of the Saudi public investment fund.

“Newcastle United is not just a football club,” reads the letter. “But a vehicle for asserting the interests of a regime that tramples on human rights and whose policies are diametrically opposed to the values and mission statement of Mainz 05.”

Finally, the message requested for the Bundesliga side to follow their club values and not support the Saudi regime. “Take a stand! Read your mission statement! Cancel the game against Newcastle United!”

The rest of pre-season

These two teams are scheduled to face each other in Austria on July 18. It forms part of a small leg of fixtures that Newcastle will play in the country. The Magpies will also have a match against German third-tier side 1860 Munich on July 15.

But that is not all for Eddie Howe’s men. Like many Premier League teams, they have a packed schedule. As well as the Austria fixtures, they will travel to Portugal to take on Benfica on July 26.

Following this, the Magpies will return home to face Atalanta on July 29 before playing Athletic Bilbao a day later. Both these matches are at St James’ Park.

Meanwhile, Mainz kicked off their pre-season with a 4-0 victory over VfR Wormatia last week. Aside from the controversial Newcastle game, the German side has fixtures booked against Besiktas and Torino, respectively.

The match against Besiktas will be on July 15 – three days before the potential Newcastle friendly. A week after, Mainz will travel to Italy and play Torino as their final game before the Bundesliga re-starts.  

Featured image credit: Getty