Update: BLAST has told Danish newspaper B.T. that the partnership with NEOM was ended.
In the B.T. article Iain Twine, BLAST’s non-executive dirctor said: “We can confirm that we have reached a joint, professional and respctful agreement with NEOM to terminate our contract.”
BLAST has not yet communicated anything on their official website, we will update this article as necessary once they do.
Original article:
After mounting pressure from talent and community, BLAST has reportedly ended the NEOM partnership.
After slightly longer than a week BLAST has reportedly ended their cooperation with NEOM according to a report by hltv.org.
BLAST ends NEOM partnership amid community and team pressure https://t.co/3hMbpUbVal
— HLTVorg (@HLTVorg) August 12, 2020
NEOM once again criticized
This is not the first time NEOM has suffered a setback while trying to enter the esports scene. In League of Legends the LEC partnered with the Saudi Arabian project before cancelling the deal after a massive backlash from personalities and fans.
Saudi Arabia’s track record in human rights violations, poor working conditions and discrimination against women and the LGBT+ community is well documented and once more drew outrage from the scene. As professional teams like Astralis joined the critics BLAST has apparently relented to the pressure.
BLAST has not issued any official statement regarding the matter so far, we will keep you updated once more information is known.
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