{
"$type": "site.standard.document",
"bskyPostRef": {
"cid": "bafyreignhk67ueuoi2tktqwih4mboz6ndo2lg2kxhmgp3wvjb5clnqdfai",
"uri": "at://did:plc:g673g5qzb2lfjsjw4rzbkvsu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg7h5enqllv2"
},
"coverImage": {
"$type": "blob",
"ref": {
"$link": "bafkreichdiv3uzdmekruesvixdds7f45xkhupd3dsst4tnadi5g3mjnrge"
},
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"size": 25443
},
"path": "/why-is-soccers-most-famous-scoopster-doing-pr-work-for-saudi-arabia",
"publishedAt": "2026-03-03T15:55:26.000Z",
"site": "https://defector.com",
"tags": [
"Soccer",
"Fabrizio Romano",
"saudi arabia",
"Sportswashing",
"questionable journalistic focus",
"many",
"a Super Mario commercial"
],
"textContent": "From the man who brought you questionable journalistic focus on a player accused of rape, comes an outright #ad for Saudi Arabia.\n\nhttps://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2028818183923147039\n\nThat's soccer scoopster Fabrizio Romano, taking a break from many (many) betting app ads and a Super Mario commercial to read a two-minute ad for the King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Centre, a Saudi Arabian government agency focused on, well, humanitarian relief worldwide. The ad is uncomfortable to watch, even without any context: Romano simply dives into the script with no preamble and just begins listing numbers and projects. It's uncanny to watch a soccer journalist kick off his exultation of a government agency by talking about land mines in Yemen and, later, about conjoined twins that the relief organization has helped separate. This whole thing is a disaster, though hearing Romano say \"five hundred forty thousand mines\" in the same tone that he might talk about a transfer fee has some form of perverse appeal. The only thing missing was his trademark \"Here we go!\" catchphrase.",
"title": "Why Is Soccer’s Most Famous Scoopster Doing PR Work For Saudi Arabia?"
}