From Khashoggi to Al-Jasser: FIFA Cannot Ignore Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Abuses
Credit: genocidewatch.com

From Khashoggi to Al-Jasser: FIFA Cannot Ignore Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Abuses

On June 14, 2025, the world awoke to gruesome news from Riyadh — Saudi Arabia executed yet another journalist, Turki al-Jasser, on charges of treason, foreign cooperation, and terrorism. After seven years behind bars — during which he was forcibly disappeared, tortured, and denied due legal process — al-Jasser was silenced forever.

Turki al-Jasser’s execution is not just a tragedy for journalism and free speech but also a harsh reminder of why the world needs to shun this totalitarian regime’s attempt to whitewash its reputation through football diplomacy.

The Execution of Turki al-Jasser: A Brutal Suppression of Truth

Turki al-Jasser was no traitor, no criminal. He was a journalist — one of the very few people in Saudi Arabia courageous enough to speak out against officialdom, expose corruption, and advocate reform like the rights of women. His true “crime” was being the administrator of an anonymous X (formerly Twitter) account that exposed scandalous details about the ruling palace’s inner lives.

Arrested in 2018, al-Jasser disappeared into Saudi Arabia’s infamous prison network. His family was kept from visiting him; he was denied a lawyer; he was tortured. After seven years of solitary confinement, abuse, and fear, the regime killed him with secrecy and without due process. The news of his hanging presented no credible evidence to support the accusation of treason or terrorism — merely the gruesome guarantee that dissent, even in its quietest form, will be silenced.

The “Sportswashing” Strategy: FIFA Cannot Be Complicit

Why is this relevant to the FIFA World Cup? Because the regime of Saudi Arabia is sportswashing, especially using football, its global image. The Saudi Arabian bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup is not a joyous promotion of the game — it is a deliberate political tactic called “sportswashing.”

By injecting billions of dollars into football — buying clubs like Newcastle United, sponsoring global events like LIV Golf, and mercilessly bidding for world sporting events — the Saudi state hopes to shift the world’s gaze away from its human rights abuses, executions, torture, oppression of women and minorities, and silencing of journalists.

Awarding Saudi Arabia the right to host the World Cup would not only legitimize this repressive government but also reward its consistent repression of free speech and human dignity. It would send a chilling message that money can muzzle, atrocities can be whitewashed with shiny stadiums, and the cries of tortured journalists are less important than sponsorship deals.

The Execution Numbers Tell the Story

The numbers are staggering — and daunting. In 2024, Saudi Arabia executed 330 people, nearly double the 172 of last year. That is the most in decades. And as of mid-2025, more than 100 already have been executed.

These murders, often after unfair trials or on “endangering national unity” charges, are indicative of wholesale repression of political opponents, minorities, and dissent. UN representatives, international rights groups, and independent reporters have repeatedly complained to Saudi Arabia about these activities — in vain.

Turki al-Jasser’s hanging is just the tip of the iceberg. Behind each case that comes to light, there are thousands of silenced detainees tortured and broken by a system that exists solely to preserve absolute monarchy, with no free voices or opposition to hold it accountable.

FIFA’s Responsibility: Football or Complicity

FIFA claims to uphold integrity, respect, and human rights. Its own Human Rights Policy mandates host countries to ensure basic freedoms, workers’ rights, and dignity of human being. By however awarding Saudi Arabia the victory of the 2034 World Cup, FIFA turn the tables on all the principles they claim to uphold.

What jurisdiction will the World Cup have if the host nation executes journalists, assaults dissidents, and quashes civil liberties? How can FIFA pride itself on respecting human rights when it is giving a world platform to a government that worships despotism and trounces justice and freedom?

The Global Community Must Act — Not Stay Silent Again

When Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, the world’s outrage passed too quickly. Governments normalized relations; businesses returned; sporting associations thrived. This overall dereliction encouraged Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to increase repression. Turki al-Jasser’s assassination is the product of that worldwide timidity.

If the world once again lets Saudi Arabia off the hook — this time by not preventing it from staging the 2034 FIFA World Cup — it will legitimize every killing, every torture, and every silenced voice. The international community — governments, competitors, sponsors — needs to unite: Saudi Arabia cannot and should not host the 2034 World Cup.

Why This Boycott Matters

A Saudi Arabia ban on World Cup hosting is not symbolic. It would:

  • Bring the brutality of the regime to a global audience;
  • Prevent the Saudi leadership from getting the legitimacy and prestige they so crave;
  • Show that human rights cannot be bought with sporting money;
  • Heap pressure upon the Saudi government to enact meaningful reforms if they want future global acceptance.

It would also honor the memory of Jamal Khashoggi, Turki al-Jasser, and thousands of faceless victims who took the risk to speak out — and paid the ultimate price for it.

Voices of Dissent Must Be Heard

As champions of justice and human rights, we have to utilize every possible platform to get this message out. Journalists, athletes, fans, human rights organizations, and global leaders have to come together to call on FIFA to overturn this ruling. Football is of the people — not of dictators who use it to censor atrocities.

The professional lives of journalists like Turki al-Jasser must not be put on the altar of corporate bargaining or diplomatic convenience. It is our obligation to their courage in standing up to repression — and to demanding that no regime that murders messengers of truth should be given the world’s premier sporting spectacle.

The Time to Act Is Now

Turki al-Jasser’s killing is not just another violation of human rights — it is the final proof that Saudi Arabia does not deserve to host the FIFA World Cup 2034. The world cannot do again what it did following Jamal Khashoggi. FIFA, governments, business, and supporters must stand strongly — not with rhetoric, but with action. Ban Saudi Arabia from the FIFA World Cup 2034. Anything short of this is to be complicit in their atrocities. Make this World Cup one of unity, joy, and freedom — not tyranny, oppression, and terror.