Scenes of Player Flogging’: Saudi Football Federation’s Decision to Tighten Rules for Fans

After a video of a player being whipped during a match in the Saudi Football League went viral, the country’s football federation has decided to review the rules and regulations applicable to fans. The incident of whipping a Jeddah-based Etihad Football Club player took place in Abu Dhabi, where Etihad lost to Al Hilal in the final match of the Saudi Super Cup. 

In the video that went viral on social media, it can be seen that after the loss, an angry man standing near the field started flogging the Etihad player.

Footballer Abdul Razzaq Hamdullah had thrown water on a fan. The fan then became enraged and lashed out at the player with a whip. Hamdullah, a striker from Morocco, scored a goal for his team, but his team lost 4-1.

 He had previously failed to score a penalty goal.”Football in Saudi Arabia is a family game. Thankfully, rudeness towards fans is rare. The actions of this so-called fan do not reflect Saudi football, the statement added. 

We condemn this incident. The rules and regulations of the fans will be revised. This will result in revising the laws to prevent such incidents by imposing fines. After this incident, the staff present on the ground stopped Hamdullah from retaliating. Other Etihad players who tried to climb towards the fans’ seats were also stopped. 

On the other hand, it can be seen in the video that the angry fan is taken away by the security personnel. The alliance has not yet reacted to the incident. Saudi Arabia is now considered a major player in the game of football. It will host the Football World Cup in 2034. The Saudi Pro League has paid record salaries to famous footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar,  and Karim Benzema.

The Saudi Football Federation decision highlights the struggle to maintain decorum within the sport for this purpose proper strict rules are implemented for fans which shows the incidents of scenes of players flogging. This incident not only badly ruined the image of football but also impacted the physical and mental well-being.

By applying strict rules Saudi Football aims to curb the bad abusive behavior as well as ensure a safe environment for the football team players.

In addition, the implementation of strict rules by the football federation underscores the vast societal importance of sportsmanship as football is a platform where players should play with unity, and at this platform, there should not be any place for incidents of violence or aggression.

At the beginning, most of the fans may not accept these new rules because they are used to do what they want. These rules are very important due to keeping the physical health of players as well as the game fair. We want football to bring people together where everyone treats each other with kindness without feeling bad for others.