CAMERON NORRIE has been blasted for taking Saudi Arabian money after he agreed to play in what Amnesty describe as their latest “jamboree of sportswashing”.
A cohort of tennis stars have signed up to play next month in the Diriyah Tennis Cup in the controversial oil-rich nation.
Cameron Norrie played in the Rolex Paris Masters last month
Norrie, 27, will join Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, German Alex Zverev, Austrian Dominic Thiem and Swiss star Stan Wawrinka in the Middle East event on December 8-10.
The total prize pot is £2.6million – yet it is not an official ATP tournament.
Norrie’s appearance in the field goes against the stance set by Andy Murray, who said during Wimbledon that he had turned down Saudi Arabian millions to play tennis there.
And leading human rights campaigners have blasted Norrie’s decision to take part in this out-of-season exhibition.
Felix Jakens, Amnesty International UK’s Head of Priority Campaigns, said: “We’ll never tell people like Cameron Norrie where they should or shouldn’t play tennis.
“But by appearing in Diriyah, Cameron should realise he’s effectively being deliberately hired in to take part in the latest jamboree of Saudi sportswashing.
“Everyone playing in Diriyah will surely realise that this tennis tournament is yet another example of Saudi Arabia trying to sportswash its bloody human rights record.”
In a statement, Jakens highlighted the country’s appalling human rights record which includes the execution of 81 people in a single day earlier this year.
And Amnesty called on Norrie to speak out publicly about the jailing of Leeds University student Salma al-Shehab in August for 34 years for her writing and peaceful Twitter activity.
Jakens added: “Cameron has a big platform and genuine influence, and he should use this to show solidarity with people like Salma al-Shehab who are being cruelly persecuted in Saudi Arabia.
“What Saudi Arabia appears to look for with these competitions is a smiling high-profile sports star who will studiously avoid talking about human right – Cameron should speak out.
“With Saudi Arabia currently throwing sizeable bundles of money at everything from golf and Grand Prix, to boxing and football, it’s really important top sporting figures use their high profiles to speak out about Saudi human rights abuses.
“We’d like to see any player who agrees to compete in Diriyah refusing to be passively used for sportswashing by speaking out on human right issues.
“Not least by calling for the release of people like Salma al-Shehab.”
Norrie, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon semi-finals, is believed to be the first Brit to play tennis in Saudi.
The world No.14 said: “I’m looking forward to playing at the Diriyah Tennis Cup for the very first time in December.
“It will be a memorable tournament at a unique location and a great experience to come to Saudi Arabia.”
Norrie added: “I’m not a politician and I don’t feel it’s right for me to get involved with individual government politics.
“My job is to be a professional tennis player and this event in Saudi allows me to train with some of the best players in the world and to potentially win the Australian Open.”
Former world No1 Daniil Medvedev will also play at the Diriyah Tennis Club
