The Italian Super Cup match between Juventus and AC Milan in Saudi Arabia is under pressure to be canceled. Many parties opposed Saudi Arabia as the host of the match following the case of the death of a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.
In June, Lega Calcio agreed to cooperate with Saudi Arabia to play the Italian Super Cup match in Riyadh. Both parties agreed on a contract worth around 6.7 million euros, the two clubs will receive 3 million each and Lega Calcio will receive 700,000 euros. The match is planned to be held at King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh on Sunday, January 13, 2019.
However, the Serie A manager wants to reschedule the match following the killing of Khashoggi. Everybody now talking about the case since the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman is allegedly involved in the murder case.
Khashoggi was a senior journalist who often criticize Government of Saudi Arabia, which is now under control of the Crown Prince. Not only through his articles, the former Editor in Chief of the Al Arab News Channel also often opposed the Crown Prince policies through social media.
However, as of the beginning of October Khashoggi was declared missing. According to witnesses, Khashoggi was last seen visiting the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, to arrange his marriage. After several denials, the Government of Saudi Arabia finally admitted that Khashoggi was killed at their consulate by 15 people linked to Saudi Crown Prince.
This case has led to several sporting events planned to be held in Saudi Arabia are in danger of being canceled. In addition to the Italian Super Cup match, the tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic is also under pressure to be canceled.
The head of the UK Amnesty International Division, Alan Hogarth, is one of those who opposed the 2019 Italian Super Cup match to be held in Saudi Arabia. He assumed that the match would be a place for the Government of Saudi Arabia to clean its name.
Former Italian Sports Minister Luca Lotti also spoke about Juve and Milan match in Riyadh. He said that the match must be held outside Saudi Arabia.
"As a member of parliament, as a former Minister of Sports and as an Italian citizen, I appealed to the Lega Calcio to reconsider the decision to play Juve and Milan match in Saudi Arabia," he said as quoted by Calciomercato.
Previously, the Italian Super Cup match had been held in the United States, China and Qatar, besides of course in Italy. Lega Calcio, Juventus and AC Milan have not commented on this matter yet.
But I believe the match will still be held as planned. Because it's hard to refuse 6.7 million euros, isn't it?
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