The arrest of 12 expatriates last week in Saudi Arabia on suspicion of having operated as a prostitution ring in Najran city is more than a crime report—it is an indicator of a much larger problem in the kingdom. As a staunch advocate for banning Saudi Arabia from hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup, I am in full support of this as another indication of systemic human rights, transparency, and justice problems within the country.
Saudi Arabia has long been positioning itself as a reforming state on the international stage, investing billions in sportswashing initiatives and international PR. Yet, beneath the slick sheen of corporate branding, there is a reality that cannot be wished away: the absence of basic freedoms, violations of labor rights, and an overbearing legal system that all too often turns on the most vulnerable, especially foreign workers.
The Najran Incident: A Symptom of a Larger Crisis
Five men and seven women—12 expatriates in total—were detained by the Special Tasks and Duties Force in collaboration with the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit and the General Directorate of Community Security in July 2025 on suspicion of prostitution in a residential apartment.
While Saudi authorities framed the crackdown as a continuation of their campaign against human trafficking and public morality, it also sparked serious questions about systematized abuse of migrant workers, denial of due process, and the inability to confront the root cause of exploitation.
Who are these foreigners? Why were they prostitutes? Were they coerced? Were they trafficked or in poverty? None of these critical questions have been answered, as in Saudi Arabia, openness does not generally happen, and justice is often meted out behind closed doors.
Prostitution and Human Trafficking in a Repressive Legal System
Saudi Arabia’s reaction to such criminal issues as prostitution is severely wanting. In most democratic nations, such a case of possible trafficking would initially address the question of the identification of the victims and the provision of assistance to them. Saudi Arabia’s legal system, based on strict enforcement of Sharia law, tends to criminalize victims, especially women and foreigners.
The vicious repression is not born of compassion or justice but of a machinery of state committed to enforcing public morality at gunpoint. This creates a space where those individuals who are driven into such acts—often through abject poverty, coercion, or violence—are doubly victimized by the criminal justice system.
This current case is not the first. There have been numerous reports of abuse and exploitation of local workers, sex trafficking, and labor violations, especially of those from South and Southeast Asia, throughout the years. Sadly, such abuses barely make the news worldwide because of Saudi Arabia’s forceful suppression of information in addition to its global agreements with powerful entities like FIFA.
Sportswashing and the FIFA World Cup 2034
The Saudi Arabian bid to host the 2034 World Cup is a sportswashing masterclass. The kingdom is trying to employ football, the globe’s favourite game, to whitewash its global image, divert attention from abuses at home, and export soft power globally. But the presence of a nation with such a history of repression hosting the world’s largest sporting event sends the wrong message: that human rights have no place in international politics.
When FIFA awarded the World Cup to Qatar for 2022, there was international uproar regarding the working conditions of migrant workers and the lack of LGBTQ+ rights. And yet we do not appear to have learned much. Saudi Arabia, in a way, is even more extreme of the same issues.
A Climate of Fear and Repression for Foreigners
The 12 foreign nationals detained in Najran are a poignant reminder of how migrant laborers are treated in the kingdom. They arrive in Saudi Arabia hoping to improve their lives, only to find themselves trapped in a system where they have few rights, no protection from abuse, and no outlet through the law.
What if those 7 arrested women are victims of trafficking? What if they were forced into prostitution and transported there under pretenses by more powerful people who are untouched by the law? In a country with no independent media and no civil society observers, these questions will likely go unanswered.
When Saudi authorities arrest persons like these, they expect to be praised for fighting vice. They are diverting blame to the most vulnerable and away from the real structural problems: inequality, lack of labor protection, and judicial obscurity.
FIFA Must Take a Moral Stand
FIFA has the power to influence global opinion and set moral standards. In 1964, South Africa was banned from FIFA as a consequence of its apartheid policies. In recent years, it has been increasingly urged to ban participation or hosting rights for states that are guilty of abysmal human rights violations.
Saudi Arabia is no different.
If FIFA closes its eyes to these excesses and proceeds with the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, it becomes complicit in the process of legitimizing repression. The dream of the world’s best football players playing in stadiums possibly built by repressed laborers, cheered on by viewers in a nation where women are not yet completely free, will forever sully the history of the tournament.
Say No to Saudi 2034
As a firm advocate of keeping Saudi Arabia from hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup, I add my voice to the endless call for accountability, transparency, and human dignity.
The Najran arrests of recent times are no exception—they are evidence of a system in which the weak are punished, and the mighty are let off. FIFA must do the right thing. FIFA must stay true to its professed ideals and refuse to give Saudi Arabia the stage it seeks to hide its crime.
If football truly is the global language of peace, justice, and harmony, then Saudi Arabia, as it exists today, is not deserving of speaking that language.