JEDDAH, 7 February 2007 — Water polo teams have suffered a lot during their Saudi League matches last year. This was especially the case during the last match, which was loaded with tension and pressure.
There were two reasons behind the distress experienced. Firstly, there were the unprofessional referees who ruled unfairly during the matches. Secondly, a change in the Saudi Arabian Swimming Federation (SASF) rules that allowed international athletes to play in the final match even though many of these athletes have not played 60 percent of the matches during the league.
Some of the water polo teams’ managers and athletes told Arab News that some of the referees did not even know how to swim. “This explains why it is so difficult for them to pass rules and make inaccurate judgments,” said Majid Al-Malki, team manager for the Ittihad water polo team.
All of the players and concerned managers commented that the final matches in previous years were regulated by foreign referees, who were able to control the game and maintain the excitement till the end.
“Last year was very successful,” said Al-Malki. “The international Water Polo Federation promised us that from now on the final matches would have foreign referees,” he added.
Al-Qadisiyah team manager Tariq Al-Ahmed said, “This is great news because the mistakes that happen really ruin the spirit of the game as they lack credibility and professionalism.”
Al-Ahmed said that his team has presented a letter to SAFS complaining about the new rule. He added that he still has not received a convincing answer.
SAFS says it made an exception during the last Saudi League because many of the players were playing at the Asian Games and the league had to be stopped for a while. SAFS informed Ittihad that it would allow foreigners to play in the final match, although Ahli and Qadisiya only found out about this a few days before the semifinal. Information about changes to rules like this are normally sent via official documents.
Al-Ahmed explained that this sort of change discourages Saudi players from developing their skills when competing against others. “They know they can win by bringing in some foreign players for the finals. They think there is no need to make any effort,” said Al-Ahmed.
“This isn’t the way we develop the game in our country and definitely not the way to encourage our water polo athletes to move forward,” said Al-Ahmed.
Nasar Al-Dughether, 39, said the SASF is like a second home and thanked them for making the league one of the best in the Middle East by allowing foreigners to participate.
Al-Dughether, who plays for the Qadisiya club, has been playing since 1986. He received a letter of recommendation from the Asian Water Polo Federation acknowledging his long years of experience and efforts, and for being the eldest water sports athlete.
He added that Gianni Lonzi, FINA member of the Technical Water Polo Committee, attended the final match and was also displeased with what happened during the finals.
Al-Dughether believes having foreign referees would greatly help the sport.
According to Arab News sources, some of the referees prefer not to referee matches due to the stress they suffer.
Ahli, the champions of the Saudi Water Polo League, and Ittihad, who came second, are now getting ready to participate in the Gulf Championship for Clubs, which will be hosted by Kuwait in April.
Prior to the Kuwaiti championship, the Al-Nokhbah Championship will kick off on Feb. 22 in Jeddah, followed by the Saudi League on March 1 in Dammam.
At the season’s final match, Ahli won against Ittihad 12-11 to become the champions. Meanwhile, Ittihad crushed Qadisiya 11-7 in the semifinals held at the Green Hall in Dammam on Jan. 18.
As the Al-Nokhba Championship looms, team managers and athletes hope nothing will go wrong especially since they will begin playing in four to five weeks time and foreigners will be required to play the necessary 60 percent of matches. They also hope that all concerned will stick to the rules and regulations without any exceptions.
