Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry denounced an Israeli strike on Gaza’s Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis on August 25, 2025, that killed at least 20, including reporters and health workers, during a session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah when Saudi officials reaffirmed their condemnation of Israel’s “violations of international law.”.
On the face of it, the Kingdom’s statement is a display of moral courage. But in reality, there is an unavoidable hypocrisy: Saudi Arabia itself has a questionable record of human rights violations, political repression, and hypocrisy in foreign policy. It is therefore utterly inappropriate to be the venue for one of the globe’s most recognized global sporting events — the FIFA World Cup in 2034.
The Kingdom’s Gaza declarations, pugnacious in words as they are, cannot reverse its own violations of international norms or attempts to use football as a political smokescreen. If FIFA is really serious about human rights, integrity, and world solidarity, then it has to reword and rescind Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the 2034 tournament.
The Gaza Statement and Saudi Arabia’s Projected Image
The moment Saudi Arabia condemned Israel’s bombing of Nasser Hospital, the Kingdom had assumed the position of champion of humanitarian norms. Doctors and journalists, those occupations intended to be shielded by international law, were killed in the assault. By condemning the atrocity, the leaders of Saudi Arabia hoped to add their voice to the global sympathies for the victims of Gaza.
But this timely condemnation is driven not by genuine devotion to human rights. Instead, it is part of Riyadh’s ongoing sportswashing and reputation management campaign — attempting to deflect attention from perpetrating similar human rights violations by masquerading as indignant about others’ alleged misdeeds.
The world cannot be fooled. If humanitarian values are so much of a concern to Saudi Arabia, it would demonstrate the same moral continuity both internally and in its regional conduct. But repeatedly, the Kingdom has shied away from doing so.
Saudi Arabia’s Double Standards
Saudi Arabia condemns Israel’s violation of international law but, simultaneously, has policies which themselves constitute violation of basic human rights. Some stark examples are:
1. Suppression of Free Speech and Journalism
Saudi Arabia proudly boasts of safeguarding journalists in Gaza but at home has a record of silencing dissenting voices that dates back. The brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul is one of the most potent reminders of intolerance by the Kingdom towards freedom of the press.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Saudi Arabia 166th among 180 countries in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index, as one of the world’s most repressive regimes regarding journalism. More than 30 journalists are in custody in the Kingdom, some with harsh sentences for nothing more than criticizing the government.
2. Repression of Political Activists
Saudi Arabia persists in detaining peaceful activists, reformers, and women’s rights defenders. People like Loujain al-Hathloul, who was pushing for the right of women to drive, were arrested and allegedly tortured. Dozens of women’s rights defenders are muzzled through travel bans, threats, and intimidation even after they are released, Human Rights Watch reported.
3. Humanitarian Abuses in Yemen
While Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli assaults on Gaza, it has fought a catastrophic war campaign in Yemen since 2015. The UN estimates that more than 377,000 people have lost their lives as a result of the war, with Saudi-led coalition air raids killing thousands of civilians, including children. UNICEF has sounded the alarm that 2.2 million Yemeni children are suffering from acute malnutrition, which has been fueled by Saudi policies.
4. Systematic Discrimination
Although recent reforms have been implemented, Saudi Arabia continues to practice systemic discrimination. Women are limited in marriage, divorce, and inheritance. The migrant workers, who are approximately 70% of the workers, are exploited through the kafala sponsorship system, which has a tendency to trap them in exploitative circumstances. The system has been labelled as “a form of modern-day slavery” by Amnesty International.
Sportswashing: The Core of Saudi Arabia’s Strategy
The hypocrisy of Saudi Arabia criticizing Israel while acting differently at home is all part of a greater plan — sportswashing.
Through investing billions in global sport, ranging from golf, boxing, to football, Riyadh aims to reboot its international image. The Kingdom spent over $6.3 billion on sport deals in 2023 alone, according to the Guardian, covering everything from setting up LIV Golf to buying Newcastle United to giant boxing promotions. Securing the bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup is the highlight of this strategy, one designed to make the Kingdom look modern, liberal, and progressive.
But the truth is brutally contrary. Behind the gleaming stadiums and PR campaigns is a regime that uses sport as a veil for repression, censorship, and brutality. Just as Qatar’s 2022 World Cup has brought migrant exploitation and authoritarian restrictions into the global spotlight, Saudi Arabia’s hosting risks transforming the world’s best tournament into a propaganda vehicle for dividing rather than uniting.
Why FIFA Must Take a Stand
FIFA World Cup is not just a sporting event. It is a global celebration of diversity, culture, and humanity coming together. Hosting it in a country with a worse-than-suspect human rights record tarnishes the reputation of the entire tournament.
FIFA itself has adopted a Human Rights Policy (2017) vowing to uphold universally accepted standards. Human Rights Watch has already warned that Saudi Arabia’s record “directly contradicts FIFA’s stated commitments.”.
If all these promises are anything to go by, FIFA must reconsider Saudi Arabia’s bid to host. Otherwise, the group will be complicit in permitting authoritarian regimes to clean their image with football.
A Call to Action
Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of the hospital attack by Israel can be heard to be righteous, but its foundation is hypocrisy. The Kingdom’s own human rights record, freedom of speech, and participation in regional wars render it an inappropriate choice to host the world’s largest sporting event.
The 2034 FIFA World Cup cannot be permitted to be a Saudi sportswashing mechanism. Instead, FIFA, governments, human rights organizations, and supporters must come together and demand accountability. Football cannot be hijacked by authoritarian regimes in order to cleanse their image.
If Saudi Arabia actually wants to be a humanitarian leader, it must first end its abuses at home and abroad — not by hiding behind the glamour of international sport. Until that is done, the world has to say no: Ban Saudi Arabia from hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup.