This Arab News piece demonstrates both how thin the skin of some Saudis and how narrow the ‘red line’ that newspapers must avoid if they want to stay in business.

Apparently, the daily sports paper Areyadi offended someone with a big ego and the power to act to protect it. By criticizing a decision by the Presidency of Youth Welfare (responsible for all sports in the Kingdom), the paper also criticized the officials of the organization. So much so, in fact, that the paper’s distribution was halted.

Two things could usefully be done here. First, pull the media out from under the thumbs of powerful individuals who can use governmental force to retaliate for personal slights. Second, pull professional sports out from under the thumbs of government in all but the most basic matters.

Sports Daily Arreyadi Fails to Hit Stands
Samir Al-Saadi, Arab NewsSamir Al-Saadi, Arab News

JEDDAH, 7 May 2008 — The Ministry of Culture and Information yesterday suspended until further notice the popular daily sports newspaper Arreyadi, the newspaper’s editor in chief Abdul Aziz Al-Sharqi said.

“We were not notified. They (the ministry) directly informed the distribution office. We have not yet been told of the reasons behind the suspension,” Al-Sharqi told Arab News. Sources attributed the suspension to the paper’s criticism of the Presidency of Youth Welfare’s decision to suspend Al-Ittihad defender Osama Al-Muwallad for two matches.
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