Just read this comment in the german "Kicker". Thought it is worth to post it here.
"""Executions? Next question: what Chelsea's game against Newcastle proves.
Chelsea v Newcastle on Sunday wasn't just about football, it was about war and executions. When will the Premier League realize they took a wrong turn?
There has always been (be)heading and shooting in football, but this time the game was actually about executions, about the real, intentional killing of people, that was new. Welcome to the Premier League of 2022.
When Chelsea welcomed Newcastle United on Sunday, a week before the start of spring, even a riot newspaper like the "Daily Mail", which actually feels quite comfortable in the gloomy, saw "one of the darkest days in English football of all time" coming.
"We are richer than you," chanted the Newcastle fans
The hosts: a traditional club that lived well off the dubious money of a Russian oligarch for 19 years without ever asking a critical question; and which is now even threatened with bankruptcy because this oligarch is said to have a sticky closeness to Vladimir Putin, the initiator of a war of aggression in the middle of Europe.
The guest: a traditional club that a consortium from the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund was allowed to take over a few months ago, a country in which 81 people were officially executed the day before the game and which has been at war in Yemen for years.
And then there were the fans. Here are those from Chelsea, some of whom once again couldn't resist singing about "their" Roman Abramovich, and among whom nobody apparently had the idea of ​​displaying the banner with the Russian flag and the inscription "The Roman Empire" ( Roman's empire); there those from Newcastle, some of whom wrapped themselves in Saudi Arabia flags and sang "We are richer than you".
After the final whistle, Newcastle coach Howe made a fool of himself
Rarely has the proof been so impressive: Sportswashing, the effort to improve one's reputation through investing in sport, works extremely well. If you support my favorite club, I support you too. And anyone who asks critical questions only wants to harm my club.
When Eddie Howe was asked about the 81 executions after the game, he "just wanted to answer questions about the game" as if it were that easy when you were Newcastle manager. "My focus is on getting enough points to stay in the league," he said, reflecting the embarrassing attitude of too many fans. He was only "bitterly disappointed" by the 1-0 defeat. What's more important than staying up?
The Premier League is partly responsible for the fact that such somewhat different, somewhat bloodier "derbies" as at Stamford Bridge are possible at all and are being held more and more frequently - see ManCity, see Everton. To this day, human rights play no part in the aptitude test, which the PL uses to check whether a potential investor is "fit and proper". The world's most popular football league urgently needs to make improvements here, and according to recent reports it is now even considering it after talks with "Amnesty International".
It would be a first small step out of the impasse into which, despite all warnings, PL entered a long time ago, stubbornly ignoring opportunities to turn around. Perhaps the PL too, who willingly polishes the image of shady regimes, will soon understand that its image is also being damaged in the process.
Comment from Jorn Petersen"""
https://www.kicker.de/hinrichtungen-naechste-frage-was-chelseas-spiel-gegen-newcastle-beweist-893982/artikel