Newcastle United have sent a message to supporters, asking them to dress as they normally would when attending football matches after a number of Magpies fans attended the weekend match wearing Arabic-inspired garments as a “welcoming” gesture to the new owners.
The statement read:
“Newcastle United is kindly asking supporters to refrain from wearing traditional Arabic clothing or Middle East-inspired head coverings at matches if they would not ordinarily wear such attire.
“A number of supporters have recently attended St. James’ Park wearing associated head coverings and robes, marking the takeover of the club by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media.
“No-one among the new ownership group was in any way offended by the attire of the fans who chose to celebrate in this way. It was a gesture that was acknowledged as positive and welcoming in its intent.
“However, there remains the possibility that dressing this way is culturally inappropriate and risks causing offence to others. All visitors to the club are, as always, encouraged to wear whatever is the norm for their own culture or religion, continuing to reflect the broad and rich multicultural communities and groups from which the club proudly draws its support.”
More to follow…