JEDDAH, 20 February 2005 — Al-Ahli supporters were in shock while many expressed their anger at their team’s worst defeat against Second Division Al-Watani of Tabuk in the Crown Prince Cup played in Tabuk on Friday.
Ahli’s loss also put them out of the tournament and this led to many supporters vent their anger at their team. Many still can’t believe that their team could lose against Watani.
Ahli lost on penalty kicks 5-3 after the regulation and extra times saw the teams tied at 2-2.
“This is one of the worst defeats Ahli suffered at the hands of a team that never played in Saudi League,” said an angry supporter.
Tough punishment on players were demanded by Ahli loyalists while some vociferously sought the resignation of the club president and the management of the club.
“Contracts to local and international players to the club should be canceled at once. The contract system has made players lazy and they fail to give off their best, because they know they will get the same salary whatever the results,” said an avid fan.
In addition, people pelted stones and all kinds of metal objects on Ahli’s bus as the players left the stadium in Tabuk, said Naif Al-Ghadi, an Ahli defender, who was hit by fragments of glasses to his face.
It was also reported that Hussein Abdul Ghani was involved in a fistfight with an unidentified person.
Abdul Aziz Bu Hjar, Ahli supporter, said the result was a shame to all Ahli fans. He said, “This will happen when Ahli do not respect their opponent. If you put in efforts, you will get results. Al-Watani played very well and had nothing to lose.”
He called for an early investigation to determine the real reasons behind the loss, saying that it is not normal that a team full of stars could lose such an easy match.
Naif Al-Ghuraibi, another Ahli supporter, said everyone, according to him, thought that the match would be a walk in the park. He said, “I did not watch the match because I was 100 percent sure that we would win. I was already thinking about the match against Al-Nasr in quarterfinals. When I heard the result, I could not believe that we lost via penalties. How could a strong team like Ahli struggle for 120 minutes against an unknown team?
