UK activists accuse Arsenal F.C. of ‘sportswashing’ Sudan over UAE ties

Protestors from London For Sudan and Action For Sudan gathered exterior Emirates Stadium throughout the Arsenal vs. Liverpool match on Sunday, urging Arsenal F.C. to finish its sponsorship cope with Emirates Airlines as a result of UAE’s alleged position in Sudan’s escalating humanitarian disaster.

In a joint assertion launched yesterday, London For Sudan and Action For Sudan highlighted the alarming surge in violence in El Gezira, which has escalated following the current defection of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Abu Agla Keikil and a number of other of his troops to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

“In just 48 hours, over 500 men have been killed in a single village, and at least 37 cases of rape have been reported around Rufaa in Sudan’s El Gezira state. Tragically, some 130 Sudanese women are believed to have taken their own lives to avoid RSF violence,” the assertion learn.

Residents in El Gezira had beforehand warned of extreme RSF retaliation, elevating fears of a brutal cycle of vengeance, and escalating civil strife.

The teams accuse the United Arab Emirates of fuelling the battle by supplying arms to the RSF, a cost echoed by many stakeholders and activists. At the UN Security Council’s 9,611th assembly in April, Sudan’s Permanent Representative, El Harith Idriss Mohamed, immediately accused the UAE of involvement. The UAE has denied these claims, calling the accusations and alleged proof “baseless.”

As the disaster deepens, the protesters argue that the UAE, which owns Emirates Airlines, is benefiting economically from the violence by securing entry to Sudan’s resources in alternate for supporting the RSF. 

“Arsenal’s continued partnership with Emirates Airlines implicitly links the club to these atrocities,” London For Sudan and Action For Sudan said, accusing the UAE of “sportswashing genocide in Sudan.”

The protestors urged Arsenal followers and most of the people to help their name for an finish to the Emirates sponsorship, urging followers to “take a stand for Sudan” by signing petitions and demanding accountability from the soccer membership.