JEDDAH: Al-Nasr is to play a closed-door match for its fourth round assignment against Al-Ittihad on Wednesday in Riyadh, Hussein Al-Najaie of Al-Ittifaq is suspended three games for unsportsmanlike behavior and Ittifaq fined SR20,000.
The disciplinary committee at the Saudi Football Federation handed down these punishments in the aftermath of the mayhem that marred the match between Ittifaq and Nasr, which ended in a 1-1 draw on Saturday in the third round of the Saudi Professional League.
Match referee Khaled Al-Zahrani had to stop the match and call for police help to restore order after Nasr and Ittifaq fans became unruly in the waning minutes of the match, throwing metal objects at each other and onto the field.
The police intervention apparently was not enough and the referee had to ask the Nasr team manager to calm their fans down.
Great damage was done at Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd stadium in Dammam as fans stormed the field after the match and destroyed advertising boards.
Ittifaq club President Abdul Aziz Al-Dossari said that the unfortunate turn of events was triggered by the Nasr fans not accepting the 1-0 lead against them. He said it was the first time he witnessed such an incident in the Saudi league. He defended the Ittifaq fans, saying they did not do anything during the match.
“The referee should have ended the match at that time when the situation got out of control instead of continuing the match,” he said. The president of Nasr club, Prince Faisal ibn Abdul Rahman, accused the referee of spoiling the match.
The prince said he overlooked a deserved penalty kick for Nasr, which provoked Nasr fans and caused more tension in the match.
“I did not see bad behavior from Nasr fans. If one of the fans throws a bottle of water on the field then that is an individual behavior that happens in every match. The referee should have continued the match instead of aggravating the situation by stopping it.” That the match had a tumultuous ending had to do with the inability of the referee to put things under control. Prince Abdul Rahman blamed the referees committee for not choosing the appropriate official for the match.
