SAUD & PROUD

Hearn defends staging events in Middle East as World Snooker target tournament in the region

PROMOTER Barry Hearn has defended taking major sporting events to Saudi Arabia – despite criticism over the country’s record on human rights and accusations of sportswashing.

But it is understood that despite a £2.5million deal signed before Covid for a tournament there, World Snooker Tour may have to look elsewhere in the region.

Increasingly, the Saudis have huge, controversial involvement in top-level sport through associations with Newcastle United, LIV Golf and boxing mega fights involving Anthony Joshua

And Matchroom president Hearn insists his main motivation is doing the best for his clients.

He said: “We give a huge amount of thought to it.

“But at the end of the day – and it’s an easy cop-out by the way – we are representing our clients and our job is to maximise their financial returns.

“To take an Anthony Joshua fight, for example, to Saudi Arabia means that my client will earn three times what he would earn normally and I can’t deny him that opportunity.”

Asked about Saudi’s human rights record, Hearn admitted: “No. I don’t even consider it.

“Again, I compartmentalise it. We can all make excuses. We always say let the government sort it out, this is political.

“The moment it’s not legal you obey the law but at the moment there’s the hypocrisy that’s involved with, for example, Saudi Arabia when our government are selling them arms.”

WST were due to stage a first major ranking tournament in the country in October 2020.

Players had generally reacted very positively to the news but Covid scuppered plans and those in the know suggest getting it back on is proving difficult.

It could be that the region is more likely to see a major snooker event first in Abu Dhabi or the UAE, rather than Saudi Arabia.