Refusing to attend the Asian Cup, Saudi Arabia captain risks being banned from playing for 6 months

Six players Salman Al Faraj, Sultan Al Ghannam, Khalid Al Ghannam, Nawaf Al Aqidi, Muhammad Maran and Ali Hazazi are expected to receive heavy penalties from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.

This group of players was accused by coach Roberto Mancini of rebellion, opposition and refusing to wear the Saudi Arabian national team jersey for the 2023 Asian Cup.

Today (February 5) and tomorrow, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation will work with the group of players before deciding on penalties. The lightest penalty is expected to be a 3-month suspension, and the heaviest is 6 months.

In the group of players, there are 3 who are pillars of the national team, including Salman Al Faraj, Sultan Al Ghannam and Nawaf Al Aqidi.

Al Faraj could face a heavy fine for refusing to play for the national team.

Salman Al Faraj has been the captain of the national team for many years with 73 appearances.

Coach Mancini said that Al Faraj refused to play in friendly matches before the Asian Cup, so he removed this player from the tournament registration list.

Regarding Sultan Al Ghannam, coach Mancini talked many times to convince him but this player did not want to wear the national team shirt.

Nawaf Al Aqidi does not want to work with the Italian coach.

Coach Roberto Mancini has led the Saudi Arabian national team since August 2023. He helped the team win all matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. At the 2023 Asian Cup, Saudi Arabia topped the group with 2 wins and 1 draw.

However, they suffered a defeat in the round of 16 against South Korea. This was a regrettable defeat for the West Asian team because they took the lead through Abdullah Radif, but Cho Gue-sung equalized in injury time. Then, Mancini's team lost 2-4 on penalties.

Coach Mancini was criticized for leaving the tunnel before the penalty shootout was over. Saudi Arabia missed the chance to win the Asian Cup for the first time in 28 years. In their history, they won the championship three times in 1984, 1988 and 1996.

Van Hai

Source: https://vtc.vn/tu-choi-du-asian-cup-doi-truong-a-rap-xe-ut-nguy-co-bi-cam-thi-dau-6-thang-ar851875.html