Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has admitted he does not feel qualified to answer questions over the club’s Saudi owners amid football’s ongoing geo-political debate.
The Magpies’ head coach was criticised for side-stepping the issue in his post-match press conference at Chelsea on Sunday.
On Monday Night Football, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville said Premier League managers must be prepared to answer difficult questions relating to club owners and the origins of their money.
“In the modern world part of my job is to know what’s going on around the world and I’m reading up on that,” Howe said at his pre-match press conference.
“I respect Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher’s opinion and I get on well with them. I’ve no issue with what they said. But ultimately it’s my right to say what I need to say.”
Howe added: “It’s a difficult one for everyone concerned. I understand the questions have to be asked, I’ve got no problem with that.
“From my perspective – and I’ve always maintained this – my specialist subject is football. It’s what I know, it’s what I’ve trained to do.”
Howe added: “As soon as I deviate from that into an area where I don’t feel qualified to have a huge opinion, I think I go into dangerous ground, so I prefer to stick to what I believe I know.
“I’m hugely proud to represent this football club and the supporters and the city and I’m trying to create a team the city can be proud of, and all my energy is going into that and will continue to.”
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However, the 44-year-old revealed he is reading up about the situation in order to become better acquainted with the details.
He said: “Obviously part of my job now in the modern football management scene is to know what’s going on around the world, and I will have to do that.
“But football will have to be and will always be my passion and it will always be the main crux of my job, and I think that’s where my time needs to be spent.”
Carra & Nev: Why Premier League managers need to front up
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Over the last week, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has handled questions on Roman Abramovich and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in “statesman-like” fashion, according to Neville.
But Howe, who was appointed as Newcastle manager by the club’s Saudi Public Investment Fund owners in November, refused to comment when asked about Saudi Arabia executing 81 people in one day following his side’s 1-0 loss to Chelsea on Sunday.
Asked by MNF presenter David Jones whether it is fair for managers like Howe to face questions on such matters, Carragher said: “Yes, I think it is, with the situation and how everybody sees it and how against it a lot of people are – and understandably so.
“Thomas Tuchel has handled the whole situation with what is going on with Roman Abramovich and what’s happening in Ukraine really well.
“The question to Eddie Howe on Sunday, the tone of it was, ‘Eddie, what are you doing working for the Saudis, are you not aware of what they do?’
“That was the insinuation, and it is a very difficult position for him to be in.”
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Amnesty International urges Howe, Newcastle to speak out on Saudi ownership
Amnesty International has called on Howe and anyone involved with the club to speak up about human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, after 81 people were executed in the Gulf state at the weekend.
Eighty per cent of the club is owned by the Saudi Arabian-led Public Investment Fund (PIF), which Newcastle and the Premier League insist is independent from the Gulf state itself. However, its chairman is Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who is also Deputy Prime Minister.
The executions happened on Saturday for crimes ranging from killings to belonging to militant groups. It is the largest mass execution carried out in the country’s recent history.
Following his game against Chelsea this weekend, Newcastle manager Howe was asked by the media about events in Saudi Arabia. While he said he was “well aware” of what was going on, he insisted his focus was on football, which has drawn criticism.
Howe said: “My focus is on trying to produce a team to win football matches and get enough points to stay in the league, and that’s all I’ll talk about.”, before adding: “I’m going to talk football, that’s all I’m concerned with.”
Amnesty International’s head of campaigns, Felix Jakens, told Sky Sports News: “Ultimately, Eddie Howe isn’t the decision-maker on who should own Newcastle United. But he is the football manager.
“What we would urge him and anyone involved with the club to do is to be aware of these issues. 81 people were beheaded in Saudi Arabia over the weekend. We would like him and others to be able to speak up about that.
“He is not the person who makes overall decisions about the ownership, but he does have a voice to speak up about these issues”.
Howe responds to Carra, Nev: ‘My specialist subject is football’
Source: Healthy Lifestyle
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