Lawrenson: New Saudi Event Elephant In European Tour Board Rooms This Week

As the news fails to improve over Jamal Khashoggi’s murder at the hands of Saudi government agents, Derek Lawrenson of the Daily Mail wonders how much longer the European Tour can monitor the situation. Since it’s a new Saudi Arabian stop initiated by Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia suspected of ordering Khashoggi’s execution, all eyes are on the European Tour’s handling.

It's not a vast leap of the imagination to suspect the Saudis are using their oil wealth to lure sport into something of a devil's pact, to present a more acceptable persona to cover up human rights abuses.

But are we in the Western world really in a position to take the high ground and dictate where sports events should be staged?

While Lawrenson correctly notes that the Western world has its violence issues, none of them were potentially endorsed or ordered by the person described by the tour as having visited London “to confirm the full-field event that will play a key part in the European Tour’s early-season Desert Swing in 2019.”