'Sign of respect': Eddie Hearn defends playing Saudi national anthem at Wembley Stadium

British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has come under fire for playing the Saudi Arabian national anthem before the Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua heavyweight IBF title fight at Wembley.

While Dubois pulled off a huge upset in retaining his belt, other issues outside the ring came as a surprise to observers of the sport in the UK, with a journalist denied entry after writing a critical piece on Saudi Arabia's involvement in boxing.

Hearn defended the decision play the oil-rich country's national anthem and said he would be willing to play the Saudi Arabian anthem at every fight if the country asked him to. The fight was part of the Riyadh Season series backed by the nation's General Entertainment Authority under advisor Turki Alalshikh.

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Speaking to iFLTV, Hearn said playing the anthem was a "sign of respect" to Alalshikh, who has pumped millions into the sport.

"He's given British boxing – all the fighters, all the fans – the best night, he's paid for it all," he said. "I couldn't have put that event up, Frank Warren [a rival promoter] couldn't have put that event up.

"It's a sign of respect for the work that's been put in to create this event – and for 20 seconds, is it a big deal? He [Turki] could have done that show in Riyadh and everyone could go: 'Oh, another big fight in Riyadh.'

"But now he's actually gone out, spent the money to do it in the UK and give everybody just the best night and all these fighters all these incredible opportunities and we still find a way to say: 'Yeah, but they played their national anthem.' Well, you know what? I'll play the anthem if they want, for what they're doing, at every show."

Hearn fended off claims the Saudi regime had an agenda with its investment into boxing, saying they have "a passion to create great events."

"Riyadh Season, like any sponsor, would be looking for the benefits, a brand to be seen globally, to raise the profile," he said.

However when asked about the fallout over accreditation at Wembley Stadium, regarding Telegraph reporter Oliver Brown's denied entry, Hearn said it was more about a lack of space than anything else.

A day before the fight, Brown wrote a piece about Saudi Arabia's alleged attempt at sportswashing.

Hearn said there were more than 350 applications for accreditation.

"Gareth Davies, who is a sports writer at the Telegraph, was at the event," he said.

"So the Telegraph had representation at the event. I don't know the ins and outs of what happened.

"Some people want to just come to the bigger shows, but obviously their job is to cover the biggest events in sport, so I don't blame them for that.

"But it's not an easy job trying to take care of the media accreditations and there are always going to be upset people. It wasn't our responsibility, but I do understand how difficult it is that everyone is looked after."

Hearn admitted Saudi organisers would review all aspects of the fight preparation but were "not involved" in organising accreditation.

Brown claimed a representative from Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions confirmed his accreditation and where to collect it by email.

But when he showed up at the door, he was told he would not be allowed to enter the event.

"The level of operation from Riyadh Season is like nothing you've ever seen before," Hearn added.

"So when they read this stuff of course, when they see it, they want to know what's going on. 'How can we fix it? What can we do better next time?' But [Alalshikh] wants every event to be 100 per cent perfect."

Brown's rejection sparked questions about Wembley's involvement in the matter, but the Football Association, which owns the stadium's operator, had no involvement according to reports.

It's understood the promoter who hires out the stadium for the event has the final decision on accreditation.