Riyadh was preparing to host Al-Hilal against Shabab Al-Ahli on Tuesday 3 November in the fourth round of the West Asia league stage of the AFC Champions League Elite. Before the match, the timing of Shabab Al-Ahli's delegation arrival in Riyadh remained unclear.
Communication before the match
GOAL reported, citing informed sources speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, that the Asian Football Confederation, its Saudi counterpart and Al-Hilal's management spent hours trying to reach Shabab Al-Ahli to find out when the team's delegation would arrive in Riyadh.
GOAL reported, citing the same sources, that no response had been received from Shabab Al-Ahli up to 1:39 pm Saudi time on Monday 2 November, and that the club's management had still not specified when the delegation would arrive.
GOAL reported, citing the same sources, that Shabab Al-Ahli's management had ignored calls from parties seeking to arrange reception, hospitality and accommodation.
Arrival and meeting schedule
Several Shabab Al-Ahli officials landed in Riyadh on Sunday 1 November, alongside the match commissioner and the refereeing team assigned to the match.
The technical meeting was scheduled for three o'clock on Monday 2 November.
GOAL reported that the technical meeting might go ahead as planned or be pushed back to the evening while organisers waited for the Emirati delegation.
Other signs around the fixture
GOAL reported that other sources suggested the delegation was expected before sunset on Monday 2 November.
Users circulated a post they attributed to Shabab Al-Ahli's official account about the match against Al-Hilal, and it was deleted shortly afterwards.
Shabab Al-Ahli published a list of their November opponents on Sunday 1 November with Al-Hilal first among them.
Shabab Al-Ahli's website still ran a countdown to the match on Tuesday 3 November.
