Norrie accused of taking part in ‘sportswashing’

CAMERON Norrie has been accused of making himself part of “the latest jamboree of Saudi sportswashing” by agreeing to play in the Diriyah Tennis Cup, writes the Press Association’s Eleanor Crooks. That is the view of Amnesty International UK on the British number one’s participation in next month’s exhibition event in Saudi Arabia.

Norrie was announced yesterday as the latest player to sign up along with Russian Andrey Rublev, joining Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka and Alexander Zverev in the field.

Felix Jakens, Amnesty International UK’s head of priority campaigns and individuals at risk, urged the 27-year-old player to speak up about human rights abuses in the country.

“We were never going to be telling people like Cameron Norrie where they should or shouldn’t play tennis but, by appearing in Diriyah, Cameron should realise he’s effectively being hired to take part in the latest jamboree of

Saudi sportswashing,” said Jakens.

“With Saudi Arabia currently throwing sizeable bundles of money at everything from golf and grand prix to boxing and football, it’s really important that top sporting figures use their high profiles to speak out about Saudi human rights abuses. Earlier this year, 81 people were executed in a single day in Saudi Arabia ...and there’s been no accountability for the shocking murder of Jamal Khashoggi.”

Norrie said: “I don’t feel it’s right for me to get involved with individual government politics.

“My job is to be a professional tennis player and this event in Saudi allows me to train with some of the best players in the world and to potentially win the Australian Open.”

The tournament runs December 8-10.