Newcastle United's new away shirt is expected to sell well in Saudi Arabia but it has been criticized in the UK.

The jersey - images of which were leaked this week - is remarkably similar to the one currently worn by the Saudi Arabian national team.

It has been widely suggested that this was a deliberate ploy by Newcastle's owners to increase the club's popularity in Saudi Arabia, which could prove highly lucrative.

In October last year, Newcastle were bought by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

As part of the takeover process, the Premier League had to be convinced that there was no connection between PIF and the Saudi state.

But critics believe that the PIF bought Newcastle United so that they could use the power of sport to improve Saudi Arabia's reputation in the west, where there are serious concerns about the state's human rights record.

Saudi Arabia's home shirt pictured being worn by Salman Alfaraj at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021

Felix Jakens, Amnesty International UK's head of campaigns, said this week: "If it is true that Newcastle United is changing its away kit to match Saudi Arabia's national colors, it exposes the power of the Saudi dollar and the kingdom's determination to sportswash its brutal, blood-soaked human rights record.

"Despite all their assurances of a separation between the Saudi owners and the club this seems like clear evidence of the regime using Newcastle to portray a positive image.

"Everyone – from fans to champions – needs to resist being part of Saudi Arabia's propaganda drive, be aware of what is going on there and speak out about the government’s abuses: the mass executions, [the journalist Jamal] Khashoggi's murder and dire situation for LGBTI+ people. Sport must not be allowed to be used like this."

In their entire history, Newcastle have played in around 100 different shirts.

Indeed, one of those was white and green.

In the 1999/2000 season, Newcastle's away jersey was mainly white with dark green trim. It was manufactured by Adidas and had a black collar.