Eddie Howe’s side have travelled to Austria for a week-long training camp this week in what will be viewed as a decent run out for the squad pre-season.
This will include a clash with Mainz 05 on Monday, 18th July (kick-off 5pm local time, 4pm BST) at the 4,500-capacity Kufstein Arena.
Mainz 05 finished eighth in Bundesliga last term. United played against them in a pre-season friendly in the summer of 2017, losing 2-1.
This fixture was in some doubt and there was talk of it being cancelled as Fans of the German club don’t want the Saudi-backed Newcastle stepping on their ground!! Supporters from Mainz have made a statement in which they beg the club to cancel the game against the Magpies altogether.
Ya oder Nein?
No- the game should be called off, this is sportswashing
Yes- the game should be played, no politics in football
The collective Supporters Mainz has criticized Mainz’s position and willingness to organize a friendly against the Tyneside organization by stating that “Newcastle United is not just a football club, but a vehicle for asserting the interests of a regime that tramples on human rights and whose policies are diametrically opposed to the values and mission statement of Mainz 05”. To that, the fans added that “it is no longer possible to separate football and politics.”
In critiquing their own club’s policy of match-arranging, Supporters Mainz made it clear that they “call on Mainz 05: Take a stand! Read your mission statement! Cancel the game against Newcastle United!” Clearer than a sky empty of clouds, fellas.
Adding context to their full released statement, the fans pointed out that “authoritarian states, large corporations or billionaires are taking over international football in order to assert their interests” and framed their club’s view of the issue by saying that “with the decision to play a friendly match against Newcastle United, Mainz is sending a signal and not a good one… Mainz is actively offering the Saudi regime a stage and thus indirectly recognising it politically.”
Regardless of the fans views neither Mainz or Newcastle plan to cancel the friendly indeed Newcastle have arrived on site as part of their training camp as they gear up for the upcoming Premier League season.
