Elanga to Newcastle

Pretty sure loads of fans were disgusted about the rumours of Ronaldo and also didn’t want him to rejoin, it was discussed at length on here. I was even at the point of giving up with the club when we had Ronaldo, Greenwood and were potentially going to be bought by the Saudis.

Yes I will call out the US, and the UK for that matter over the governments handling with things recently and being racist c-nts.

Also comparisons to clubs like Arsenal are different to state run leagues. I condone Arsenals actions over their continued use of Partey and I condone the Saudis for using Ronaldo as their poster boy to sports wash the country and the rumours that they are interested in players like Greenwood and Partey. You can’t really blame England for the actions of clubs but you can’t blame the Saudis for the actions of their clubs because they are state owned and the whole point of their league to to try and promote and sports wash.

comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 48 seconds ago
Pretty sure loads of fans were disgusted about the rumours of Ronaldo and also didn’t want him to rejoin, it was discussed at length on here. I was even at the point of giving up with the club when we had Ronaldo, Greenwood and were potentially going to be bought by the Saudis.

Yes I will call out the US, and the UK for that matter over the governments handling with things recently and being racist c-nts.

Also comparisons to clubs like Arsenal are different to state run leagues. I condone Arsenals actions over their continued use of Partey and I condone the Saudis for using Ronaldo as their poster boy to sports wash the country and the rumours that they are interested in players like Greenwood and Partey. You can’t really blame England for the actions of clubs but you can’t blame the Saudis for the actions of their clubs because they are state owned and the whole point of their league to to try and promote and sports wash.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I’ve employed the same sort of rhetoric Darren has, he’s even gone as far as to say (or at least imply, and when called out on it, refused to deny) that raaaape is part of Saudi culture. If you want to be fair, you can call out the issues in a nation without resorting to what Darren has said.

I gave him an equivalent with the US voting Trump in twice. I could have also pointed to other figures like Andrew Cuomo. The difference is, he was willing to give a bit of nuance to the US, but gave none at all to Saudi.

I used the same sort of language he did with your Ronaldo comparison. Are we now going to say United fans support raaaapists just because we’ve had players like Ronaldo and Greenwood, or those accused of that crime like Evans and Van Persie? No.

Do we have issues with the structure of government in Saudi, the US, and even United? Absolutely. But let’s not apply double standards while pretending it’s principled criticism.

comment by Tony Le Mesmer (U1449)
posted 14 hours, 59 minutes ago
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 5 minutes ago
sounds like you are trying to convince yourself you did the right thing selling him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We did, he was nothing special in his time here
----------------------------------------------------------------------
No one is at this club. They turn up once they leave

I didn’t realise there is a large number of Saudis who oppose the government and are vocal about it?

comment by CurrentlyInChina (U11181)
posted 39 minutes ago
comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 7 minutes ago
Isn’t he the rapist who’s is paid by the Saudi government to help promote and sports wash the country because of their awful human rights record?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Also wasn't CR7 at United when these accusations surfaced and no one had an issue with it, but now he has moved to Saudi, its an issue. Says more about you as a United fan than thr Saudis.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

For the record, the Ronaldo rape incident occurred in June 2009, the summer of his transfer to Real Madrid, and reporting of it started to emerge considerably later. Many of us were vehemently opposed to his return to United on the basis of what was on the public record about that incident.

Darren The King Fletcher made a typically blunt comment about Saudi Arabia, but that's also characteristic of the kind of hyperbolic statements he makes. He's said far more extreme things about Amorim several times this week.

You're obviously someone who has an affinity with the Middle East region and are quick to defend it against what you see as uninformed prejudice. I think you have a point sometimes about Western hypocrisy and racism, but also a bit of a blind spot in suspecting bad faith and bigotry in any morally based critique of those authoritarian states.

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 34 minutes ago
comment by CurrentlyInChina (U11181)
posted 39 minutes ago
comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 7 minutes ago
Isn’t he the rapist who’s is paid by the Saudi government to help promote and sports wash the country because of their awful human rights record?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Also wasn't CR7 at United when these accusations surfaced and no one had an issue with it, but now he has moved to Saudi, its an issue. Says more about you as a United fan than thr Saudis.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

For the record, the Ronaldo rape incident occurred in June 2009, the summer of his transfer to Real Madrid, and reporting of it started to emerge considerably later. Many of us were vehemently opposed to his return to United on the basis of what was on the public record about that incident.

Darren The King Fletcher made a typically blunt comment about Saudi Arabia, but that's also characteristic of the kind of hyperbolic statements he makes. He's said far more extreme things about Amorim several times this week.

You're obviously someone who has an affinity with the Middle East region and are quick to defend it against what you see as uninformed prejudice. I think you have a point sometimes about Western hypocrisy and racism, but also a bit of a blind spot in suspecting bad faith and bigotry in any morally based critique of those authoritarian states.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was being "blunt" and "hyperbolic" in mimicking Darren with my comment there (as I've said to manutd1982). Where I disagree with you is that Darren started adding nuance when it came to the US and Trump but was at ease equating raaaape with Saudi culture as if it was thr norm there. I don't know where blunt and hyberbolic begins for you or where you draw the line, but if someone were to say raaape is the culture of the people there as Darren said, I do think that crosses a line from blunt to bigotry.

comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 47 minutes ago
I didn’t realise there is a large number of Saudis who oppose the government and are vocal about it?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Much like other places, such as China or Russia, people keep their heads down. Those who do stick out tend to disappear or forced to leave. Ans even then, we saw what happened to a certain American-Saudi journalist a few years ago. And even the US didn't really care about justice here.

C-in-C

I don't agree with what Dazza said, but I just don't believe he meant it literally.

As for the Ronaldo/United thing, I know you were making a point, but since the example you chose wasn't just hyperbolic, but based on a factually wrong claim, I thought it was worth pointing out.

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 40 minutes ago
C-in-C

I don't agree with what Dazza said, but I just don't believe he meant it literally.

As for the Ronaldo/United thing, I know you were making a point, but since the example you chose wasn't just hyperbolic, but based on a factually wrong claim, I thought it was worth pointing out.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I’m not sure if you’ve read everything Darren has written in this thread, from your response, I’m assuming perhaps not. My posts have been as hyperbolic and factual as his, at least in the context of these particular posts.

I don’t know Darren personally, and I don’t post here as regularly as I used to, so you may well be more familiar with his style or intent than I am. That said, based purely on what he has written, whether he meant it literally or not, I think it clearly crosses the line. Anyway, I'm going to leave it at that. Have a nice day RR

You too C-in-C