[News Terms] Messi Faces Criticism for Saudi Tourism Photo as 'Sports Washing'

'Sports washing' refers to the use of sports to cleanse an image. Certain countries or corporations utilize sports by sponsoring or managing sports teams or hosting sports events to wash away negative images caused by dictatorship, corruption, human rights abuses, crimes, and so on.

In 1934, Benito Mussolini's regime in Italy hosted the World Cup to promote fascism. In 2015, Azerbaijan, which faced international criticism for torture and human rights violations, consecutively hosted the 2016 Formula One (F1) Grand Prix and the 2018 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Europa League final to cleanse the country's negative image.

Last month, French professional football club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) imposed a two-week ban on Lionel Messi from participating in matches and training after he left for Saudi Arabia without the club's permission. Messi is reported to have traveled there to serve as a tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia. Messi, who won the final against France in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, is sharing his joy with his family.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to research published last November in the American Political Science Review (APSR) by Professor Adam Sharp's team at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, most international sports events were held in democratic countries about 30 years ago, but over the past decade, they have been increasingly hosted by some authoritarian countries.

The research team analyzed the historical venues of various international sports events such as the Olympics and the World Cup held worldwide from 1945 onward. As a result, the proportion of international sports events held in authoritarian countries decreased from 36% during 1945?1988 to 15% during 1989?2012, then rose again to 37% by 2022. The team particularly cited China hosting the Summer Olympics (2008) and Winter Olympics (2022) twice since 2008, and Russia hosting the Winter Olympics (2014) and the World Cup finals (2018) as representative cases.

Recently, controversy over sports washing has arisen regarding Lionel Messi (35, Argentina) and his tourism photos of Saudi Arabia posted on Instagram last May. The post included the hashtag '#VisitSaudi,' the brand of the Saudi Tourism Authority, leading to criticism that superstar Messi, with 470 million followers, might be acting as a promotional ambassador for the Saudi government, notorious for human rights abuses.

According to a contract between Messi and the Saudi Tourism Authority, first obtained and published on the 18th (local time) by The New York Times (NYT), Messi is reportedly required to visit Saudi Arabia for family trips lasting at least five days at least once a year.