Eddie Hearn would be willing to play the Saudi Arabian anthem at every fight if the country bankrolling events such as Joshua-Dubois asked him to
‘A sign of respect’: Eddie Hearn defends playing Saudi anthem at Wembley‘I’ll play the anthem if they want … at every show’Eddie Hearn would be willing to play the Saudi Arabian anthem at every fight if the country bankrolling boxing asked him to do so, amid further accusations the Gulf kingdom was attempting to sportswash its reputation as a repressive regime.
Hearn said that, for the money Turki has pumped into the sport, he was more than entitled to have the anthem played as a “sign of respect”. “He’s given British boxing – all the fighters, all the fans – the best night, he’s paid for it all,” Hearn told iFL TV. “I couldn’t have put that event up, Frank Warren couldn’t have put that event up.
“But now he’s actually gone out, spent the money to do it in the UK and give everybody just the best night and all these fighters all these incredible opportunities and we still find a way to say: ‘Yeah, but they played their national anthem.’ Well, you know what? I’ll play the anthem if they want, for what they’re doing, at every show.”Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters
Hearn also appeared to claim a row over accreditation at Wembley was about nothing more than a lack of space. The Daily Telegraph reporter Oliver Brown said his pass for the fight was revoked after he wrote an opinion piece on Friday criticising Saudi involvement in boxing. Hearn said there were over 350 applications for accreditation and added: “Gareth Davies, who is a sports writer at the Telegraph, was at the event.
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