Gripping dispatch from the heartland of Newcastle’s new Saudi owners

A sea of black and white scarves, whirled around by jubilant home fans who taunt their rivals to a point where tensions almost blow. Streets in Riyadh later flooded with those same fans, euphoric with their title talk. This is probably how Newcastle United thought things would rapidly become for them under the ownership of the Saudi Arabian state.

It was actually the scene at a match between two of this city’s oldest football rivals on Friday night, the quality and enterprise of which contributed to the sense that the country’s new Premier League acquisition have their work cut out registering on the public consciousness here.

It was a 1-0 win for Al-Shabab — the Newcastle United of Saudi football, you might call them —against Al-Nassr, the nation’s fallen giants, who won the title three times in the past decade yet whose fans tell an English visitor: ‘We are your Manchester United, now.’

Sportsmail recently attended a derby match in Riyadh where there were no women present, despite a large crowd watching

It was a 1-0 win for Al-Shabab against Al-Nassr, two of Riyadh’s oldest football rivals, on a Friday night in the city

On the morning after the match, only men gathered at the corners and bazaars of Al-Safat Square in Riyadh

Newcastle had to prove Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has nothing to do with the Public Investment Fund, which owns 80 per cent of the Premier League club

The performance of Al-Nassr’s beautifully gifted midfielder Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem and forward Vincent Aboubakar eclipsed much of what is on show at St James’ Park these days but these people were too inconsolable to acknowledge it. 

Football is in their blood here. The top cup games attract 60,000 fans. They don’t need another team.

The derby-night experience brings many familiar reactions from Al-Nassr’s fans, decked out in their yellow replica shirts. 

Warnings of ‘man on’ in Arabic. Ironic cheers when an Al-Shabab fan with a black and white scarf perched on top of his traditional ghutra headgear is marched off for taking taunts too far. And silent prayers. 

At full time, 30 fans face east and kneel in supplication on the long mat laid out for them in the car park.

But one alien aspect of this scene is unmissable: the entire absence of women. Not a single female face anywhere among the 6,000 or so supporters at the stadium in central Riyadh. Not a single daughter being brought along and encouraged to watch.

This doesn’t seem to greatly concern the assembled men. An Al-Nassr fan calling himself ‘Pete’, an Arabic teacher and translator, doesn’t consider a ‘masculine’ pursuit like football to be ‘a game for women’.

The chauvinism runs deep, perhaps explaining why it is only men who gather at the street corners and bazaars of Al-Safat Square, on the morning after the match. An occasional woman is deposited by vehicle and heads directly and efficiently to a store. But none lingers. 

There was not a single female face anywhere among the 6,000 or so supporters at the stadium for the Saudi Pro League game

Yasir Al-Rumayyan (left) is Newcastle United’s new chairman after their £305m Saudi-led takeover

Much has been made globally of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman finally allowing legislation permitting women here to drive. None in this district seems allowed to take the opportunity.

This is a subject to broach only delicately. ‘We are a country with our ways and approaches and we don’t tell you what yours should be,’ says an Al-Nassr fan, at one of the roadside hookah bars near the stadium. Which seems to be about as far as this conversation might go.

It certainly can’t and won’t develop into a search for women’s thoughts. A cursory pleasantry to one near Al-Safat Square does not elicit eye contact, let alone a word. The men are beginning to stretch out with lattes at the fancy cafes on the edge of the square. This new retail sophistication cannot disguise that the square, being hosed down in the mid-morning sunshine, is where state executions take place.

Newcastle’s fans are ecstatic with the new owners and have been wearing traditional Saudi clothing to St James’ Park

Everyone knows that challenging orthodoxies can bring consequences here. Dina Ali Lasloom attempted to flee to Australia to escape abuse and a forced marriage three years ago. She was forcibly returned by ‘relatives’ and has been neither seen nor heard of since. Newcastle’s women’s team have not spoken publicly about it but the disappearance of Ms Lasloom is something they might be asked about in time.

Buying Newcastle is designed to airbrush inconvenient details like that. In truth, Riyadh, a desperately careworn and largely impoverished city, could use the state oil riches that are being lavished on the club for a serviceable public transport system. No-one here is venturing to make that point. ‘Newcastle. It is our future,’ says an Al-Nassr supporter at Friday’s match. ‘It means people will see who we are and help us on to the map,’ says another.

The ‘United’ that people most want to discuss are the team from Old Trafford. Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival there has clearly increased the club’s ‘support’ among teenagers. But the overwhelming Premier League presence on Riyadh football minds is Mohammed Salah — a Middle Eastern legend, not just an Egyptian one. ‘Liverpool, Liverpool, Mo Salah,’ shouts one boy of about 10, hanging out of a car window after Friday’s match. 

Riyadh could use the state riches spent on Newcastle for a serviceable public transport system

There is little interest in Newcastle at present with most eyes focused on Mohamed Salah (right) over Allan Saint-Maximin

At a coffee shop, negotiation was required to get the channel switched from Arabic guitar music to Newcastle vs Brighton

‘Newcastle should bring in a huge name next year and that would make a big difference to how people feel about the club here,’ says translator Pete. ‘Salah coming would be huge. Everyone would be a Newcastle fan then.’ 

For now, it’s slow going. The clothes stores in the Ad-Dirah district hold racks of replica tops — genuine and knock-off — for every top club, though Newcastle’s are not among them. It’s the same on the swanky Boulevard, where the richer people go.

And a TV viewing of Saturday night’s game at Brighton is equally hard to find. ‘Sorry, we have a band playing,’ say the Al Aseel coffee house, a popular live TV sport venue. The boss at the Sports Cafe says ‘no’ too, despite his vast banks of screens. ‘Only Saudi leagues, Champions League and Liverpool FC.’

Across the Boulevard, at a coffee place called ‘Tim Hortons’, some negotiation is required to get the channel switched from Arabic guitar music to the Amex Stadium feed, though only eight or so watch.

Asked to name a Newcastle player, one of them replies: ‘The legend Alan Shearer’, though Soud cites Allan Saint-Maximin and Martin Dubravka. ‘Real Madrid is really my team,’ he confesses.

Just before half-time, he and his friend drift off. ‘I hope things improve for you,’ he says.