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Kieran Maguire: Arsenal to ignore critics after '£10m' deal agreed - 'it's a large sum of money'
Arsenal will ignore politics and bank their cheque from their Visit Rwanda deal despite the ‘red flags’ around human rights issues.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about Arsenal’s decision to maintain their partnership with Visit Rwanda.
As reported by The Athletic, the Gunners are not planning to end their sleeve sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda despite concerns over human rights issues.
The UK Supreme Court ruled that the government’s Rwanda immigration plan is “unlawful” and raised questions about the country’s compliance with international human rights agreements.
The North London club signed a £10million-per-season deal with Visit Rwanda in 2021, with their branding appearing on the club’s shirt sleeve.
Arsenal reportedly insist that their deal is about promoting tourism rather than supporting the country’s political leadership.
Maguire believes Arsenal will try to avoid getting involved in politics in order to keep their sponsorship deal intact.
“Arsenal will take the Jimmy Carr approach when it comes to their Visit Rwanda sponsorship – grin and bank the cheque,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“And it’s a large cheque of £10million per season – it’s a large sum of money.
“Any diligent investigation into the rights of the people of Rwanda will raise a number of red flags.
“But Arsenal will argue that it helps to pay the wages and therefore insist that they will not get involved in politics.“
In other news, Arsenal chiefs have given the green light for a stunning £50m+ January deal