Before Anthony Joshua was obliterated by Daniel Dubois on Saturday night, the Saudi Arabia national anthem was performed at Wembley.
To many watching on from home, the scene was utterly bizarre. While the country have stamped their footprint on sport, and boxing in particular, it was still out of place at the biggest and best stadium in the whole of the United Kingdom.
Big fights are being made these days due to the presence of Turki Alashik, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Entertainment Authority.
Without him, fans likely wouldn’t have seen Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury back in May. Without him, the fight between Joshua and Dubois may not have come to fruition, too.
Before Anthony Joshua was obliterated by Daniel Dubois on Saturday night, Wembley was forced to endure the Saudi Arabia national anthem being performed
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Alalshikh is a powerful figure and arguably the biggest in boxing right now.
He entered the ring after both fighters’ ring-walks, strolling with the aura of a man who knows he’s the business.
Alalshikh was happy to be sat alongside some of the biggest names in the sporting world. The likes of Conor McGregor, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk all surrounded him as he basked in the spotlight.
Those inside the stadium expected God Save the King to be performed. It was, of course, but not before Saudi singer Rashid Al-Majed had belted out their national anthem to a shocked, and somewhat confused, Wembley crowd.
The Saudi anthem being played before boxing fights is nothing new, of course.
It was performed prior to Joshau’s bouts against Francis Ngannou, Otto Wallin and Oleksandr Usyk in recent years. That made sense, of course, given all of those bouts took place in the Middle East.
But this is different. This is London, not Riyadh or Jeddah. This is the United Kingdom, not Saudi Arabia. This is a democratic country, rather than one that was ranked the 18th-most authoritarian in the world back in 2022.
To add insult to injury, Wembley was also illuminated in the green and white colours of the Saudi flag.
The Saudis know that sport is a lucrative field. They also know they have the deepest pockets, and biggest financial muscle, compared to many other countries around the world.
They have stamped their authority over boxing. There’s a sense these days that, without Alalshikh, the heavyweight division would be split and unaligned.
The Saudis have also started to make their mark in football, too. Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema are three A-listers who strut their stuff in the Middle East these days, rather than Europe.
Then there’s golf as well. LIV Golf continues to grow in popularity, emerging as a genuine rival to the PGA Tour. Big names, swayed by the big bucks, have been more than happy to jump ship.
Saudi chief Turki Alashik calls the shots in the boxing world these days
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Fans on X were, of course, appalled.
“If you ever want to see how far boxing has sold out, look no further than Wembley tonight, where two English boxers, who are fighting in the capital of England, in front of 90,000 English people….. are currently listening to the Saudi national anthem,” were the furious words of one user.
A second raged: “How did we get to a point where a heavyweight title fight between two British boxers at Wembley includes the Saudi national anthem and is promoted as part of ‘Riyadh Season’?”
And a third opined: “Still coming to terms with the fact that at Wembley, in a British v British fight, that the Saudi national anthem was played. Absolutely bonkers.”
Anthony Joshua was left battered and bruised following his defeat to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night
REUTERS
The term sportswashing is used a lot these days.
Based on this evidence, it couldn’t be any more applicable. The Saudi anthem is fine – in Saudi. Certainly, it shouldn’t have been performed at Wembley before a fight between two British fighters.