Andy Murray to boycott Saudi Arabia, not scared to raise voice against human rights violations

Andy Murray will not participate in any of the exhbition matches in Saudi Arabia, in what can be seen as the three-time Grand Slam winner’s stand against the human rights violation in the country. He is not scared to voice his opinions,  Murray’s agent and co-founder of 77 Sports Management Matt Gentry said. 

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“He’s turned down stuff in Saudi and I don’t think he would play there just because of what’s gone on.  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,” Gentry said. 

The statement from Murray’s agent comes in the same week when the Spanish Football Federation has faced criticism from human rights activists for taking its Super Cup to Saudi Arabia. 

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Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao have little say in where the mini-competition is being played. 

The tennis star can potentially make millions by participating in the exhibition games in Riyadh. However, he rejects the offer.

This is not the first time a big gun of the sport has boycotted play in Saudi Arabia. In 2018, when Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal had were schduled to play an echibition event, the Spaniard called it off due to an injury. Roger Federer had already rejected an offer to participate.

Saudi Arabia is bringing major sporting events to the kingdom not just for prestige but to divert attention away from human rights violations and the ongoing pursuit of full equal rights for women.

“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 said from Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open.

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“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 men’s golf will stage the Saudi International near Jeddah next month with $5 million in prize money. The title sponsor is the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF, which is overseen by crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman.

Planes owned by a PIF company are said to have been used by the alleged Saudi assassination squad that flew to Istanbul in 2018 to murder the U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s consulate. U.S. intelligence services said they believe the slaying came at the crown prince’s orders, which the Saudis deny.

This week, Bryson DeChambeau and Shane Lowry faced questions from the media about going to Saudi Arabia and dismissed concerns they were part of sportswashing by the country by saying they were not politicians.

Former Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said he had concerns about racing in Saudi Arabia last month and did so only because it was a decision taken by the leaders in motorsport.

Boxers like Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr. had the choice themselves whether to fight in Saudi Arabia and did so in 2019 despite criticism from Amnesty International.

With inputs from the Associated Press