It's a huge moral argument, and not one that I can honestly claim to know the answer to. And you're right, governments do look the other way - ours, the US, whoever - because they care more about money. You care more about football. And I get that, to some extent - but sportwashing is real. That's why they're here. PIF (not Staveley. She's just a front: a savvy business woman, joining dots to get rich quick) are buying NUFC for no other reason than to wash their image.
This is a deliberate attempt to deflect from absolutely appalling, daily atrocities.
Yemen, state-sponsored murder, the trashing of human-rights, gay rights (looking forward to some awkward looks on rainbow laces day), women's rights, I mean, it just goes on and on.
I just don't think you can be on here saying, oh, you lot didn't care, what about Sheff United, Chelsea, etc etc, when, for me, that's not the issue - that's just deflecting from saying, "I know it goes on. And I don't care. Top eight is more important" - which, I guess, is a bloody (no pun intended) hard statement to make. But your fight isn't with us, is it? It's with your own conscience.
And what does sit a little awkwardly in this, is you did have a conscience when it came to Fat Mike. You (the fan base) not only protested him, you protested his company, and had issues with his ways of working. Well, when you weren't winning, anyway. And the two aren't anywhere near comparable.
Now, would Sunderland fans suddenly gain a conscience if it was being thrown billions? The overwhelming vast majority, no, absolutely not. And I don't know what you'd do even if you did listen to what's "right". But you do need to stop pointing at other people - Sheff United, Labour, etc - as justification for what's happening. The Saudi stink is yours now, and will always be there - but maybe you won't notice/care if you sign Kylian Mbappe.
They absolutely are as wealthy as they claim to be. Unfathomable wealth. The head of the PIF has a painting worth more than Newcastle United.
Cracking Post sir. None of which can be argued.
What do we do about it, stop going is the correct answer however will we, would you?
I guess these are the times when talk about what is right actually effects the average bloke in England. Stop going follows the morally right path. It will not effect the regime one iota. All that happens is by following the moral path you miss out on the game you love. A tough choice with no positive outcome for the normal supporter.