Unlike different sports activities stars, Andy Murray received’t play in Saudi

The profitable provides tempting main boxers, golfers and footballers to compete in Saudi Arabia will not be sufficient for Andy Murray to place cash over morality.
When Murray has obtained approaches to fly to Riyadh to play in exhibition matches, the potential to earn hundreds of thousands of {dollars} has been rejected.
The revelation on Friday got here from the three-time Grand Slam winner’s agent within the week when the Spanish Football Federation has confronted criticism from human rights activists for taking its Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao have little say in the place the mini-competition is being performed. But for Murray, the provides had been for exhibition matches past the ATP Tour.
“He’s turned down stuff in Saudi and I don’t think he would play there just because of what’s gone on,” mentioned Matt Gentry, Murray’s agent and the co-founder of 77 Sports Management.
“If he feels strongly about something regardless, he’s at the stage where he will happily call it out and he will have that debate with people. I don’t think he’s scared to voice his opinion on it.” Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal had been scheduled to compete in an exhibition occasion in Saudi Arabia in 2018 but it surely was referred to as off as a result of Spaniard being injured. Roger Federer had already rejected a proposal to take part.

Saudi Arabia is bringing main sporting occasions to the dominion not only for status however to divert consideration away from human rights violations and the continued pursuit of full equal rights for ladies.
“Exhibition matches, they have done a few over the years where they have paid eyewatering sums of money to get players to come over, and he just wasn’t interested,” Gentry mentioned from Melbourne forward of the Australian Open.
“If you are a former No. 1 player in the world in the Middle East you could potentially earn $1 million, $2 million for an exhibition match … this is for the top players, the big global names, and I think golf is probably pretty similar in that respect.” The Asian Tour in males’s golf will stage the Saudi International close to Jeddah subsequent month with $5 million in prize cash. The title sponsor is the dominion’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF, which is overseen by crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
Planes owned by a PIF firm are mentioned to have been utilized by the alleged Saudi assassination squad that flew to Istanbul in 2018 to homicide the U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi within the kingdom’s consulate. US intelligence companies mentioned they imagine the slaying got here on the crown prince’s orders, which the Saudis deny.
This week, Bryson DeChambeau and Shane Lowry confronted questions from the media about going to Saudi Arabia and dismissed considerations they had been a part of sportswashing by the nation by saying they weren’t politicians.

Former Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton mentioned he had considerations about racing in Saudi Arabia final month and did so solely as a result of it was a call taken by the leaders in motorsport.
Boxers like Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr. had the selection themselves whether or not to combat in Saudi Arabia and did so in 2019 regardless of criticism from Amnesty International.