The Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation ruled on Wednesday that Saudi club Al-Ettifaq had withdrawn from its Gulf Club Champions League group-stage match against Iraq's Erbil and awarded Al-Ettifaq a 3-0 defeat. Al-Ettifaq did not appear at the venue in Iraq, and a dispute erupted after the ruling.
Federation ruling on the match
The Arabian Gulf Cup Football Federation said on Wednesday that Al-Ettifaq had withdrawn from the second round of the group stage against Erbil. The federation handed Al-Ettifaq a 3-0 defeat.
GOAL reported that the Gulf Federation had refused to postpone the game despite the Saudi club saying they could not travel because of the current circumstances.
Al-Saqri's criticism
Speaking on the programme "Nadeena" on the "MBC 1" channel, Saudi journalist Badr Al-Saqri said: "The stance issued by the Gulf Football Federation is utterly irresponsible. Some federations are brain dead and there is no hope of their recovery."
Al-Saqri added: "This federation takes me thirty years back. I do not want to say it is a backward federation, but it does not recover nor does it become outdated with the passage of time, and this is a continuation of a failure that is deeply rooted and rife in the arteries and veins of the Gulf Football Federation."
He also said: "Even in the Arabian Gulf Cup tournament that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia organised recently, there were scandals that were passed over in silence, such as the crises over ticket prices, broadcasting channels and the strange regulations."
Al-Saqri said: "The Gulf tournament, for me, does not differ much from a friendship tournament or the friendly Tabuk tournament."
He added: "It is a tournament not recognised by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), so it has no value."
Al-Humaidi's response
Saudi media figure Abdulrahman Al-Humaidi responded: "The Saudi national team won the Gulf tournament for national teams, so should we not celebrate it, or should we not win it?"
Al-Saqri then said: "As long as we take part in it, we must win it," adding: "I am not against the tournament, but it lost its shine many years ago."
Al-Humaidi also said: "The lack of recognition of the Gulf tournament does not diminish its importance, at the level of Gulf and Arab encounters, as well as at the level of the experience the players gain."
He added: "Regardless of the recognition of the Gulf tournament by the International Federation of Association Football, at the technical level its matches are important."
Gulf 27 result
Saudi Arabia were crowned champions of the Arabian Gulf Cup in its 27th edition, "Gulf 27", on 6 October after beating the United Arab Emirates 2-0 in the final.