Frank Warren tells Jeff Stelling ‘if you’re so principled, then don’t watch’ in astonishing Saudi national anthem rant

FRANK WARREN unleashed an incredible rant about Saudi Arabia’s involvement in sport during a heated debate with Jeff Stelling.

The boxing promoter joined talkSPORT this morning to discuss his man Daniel Dubois knocking out Anthony Joshua.

Before the Gulf State funded bout at Wembley Stadium, the Saudi Arabian national anthem was played and booed by some fans.

Radio host Stelling asked Warren if he had expected criticism about it, to which he furiously responded: “Well, no, not really, because it’s a Saudi season special event, Wembley Edition.

“If it weren’t for the fact that we’ve done that because of the Saudi season, then the fight would have taken place in Riyadh and would have played the Saudi anthem in Riyadh as they’d done for every fight and as they did in LA.

“The Saudi anthem, they were very, very instrumental in making this fight with us.

“And it’s a fabulous event and the British anthem was played as it always is, as the last anthem just before the main fight involving two Brits.”

Stelling then brought up the Saudi human rights record and Warren shockingly slammed the critics for buying tickets to Dubois vs AJ.

He ranted: “Well then, that’s fine if they are willing to sacrifice their principles [to turn up], that’s up to them. If they’re so principled about it, then don’t watch the fight. You vote with your feet if that is how you feel.

“People go to golf. That’s what makes me laugh with some of you guys, you bash them and you make these comments.

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“But what do you say about the footballers going there? What did you say about the golf players? The tennis players? The equestrian. The music stars from all around the world?

“You are going to keep living and dwelling in the past instead of moving forward. I’ve been there and it was an eye opener for me.

“It is a very young country with a very young population, I think the general population, 70 odd per cent of them are under the age of 30, youngsters, the biggest social media users in the world. 

“It’s brilliant. They’re seeing everything from around the world. The Riyadh season is a cultural event.

“As for that, we as a nation, our nation, just six to nine months ago King Charles was out in Africa, one second away from apologising about the atrocities for Mau Mau against the British and the Brits although their were atrocities on both sides.

“That happens in history. Things happen. You move forward. And by moving forward, you make it a better world.

“If you’re going to shut people down and close them down then how do you expect anything to change?

“And Saudi is change. I heard all this stuff going out there. What would happen about women and so forth. I’ve been there and I’ve seen women working there, I’ve seen women driving cars.

“All this stuff I was told was not going to happen. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

“I’m not there to defend anybody. All I’m saying is we have a government, a country that has dealt with Saudi, that buys petrol off them.

“I remember Boris Johnson during the problems of the fuel shortages went out there, was negotiating for oil. If our government, if our arms industry are doing it, if you’re doing it, you are buying events from it, from Saudi to broadcast, TV are doing it.

“Everybody is doing it – why are we all having a pop at boxing?

“We can’t put events on with such a quality of an undercard on it unless we have some financial assistance to do it, it does not stack up.

“So celebrate what happened at Wembley. It was a brilliant night for British sport.”

Stelling said Warren had defended himself well but stood by that criticism was justified.

The pair then went tit-for-that as the ex-Sky Sports host said: “You are going to get complaints made whether you like it or not, the regime over there offends a lot of people.”

They then continued to argue, with Warren encouraging him to visit the country.

But Stelling said he had no interest in making the trip.