The Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced on Monday the suspension of six players from various teams in the Saudi Professional League, imposing fines on them for their involvement in incidents that led to their exclusion from the national team lineup.
Nawaf Al-Oqaidi, goalkeeper for Al-Nassr, was suspended for five months and fined financially for his actions before being left out of the squad for the Asia Cup. Additionally, Salman Al-Faraj, the captain of Al-Hilal, and Sultan Al-Ghanam, a player for Al-Nassr, were also fined.
The Federation published the decisions on its website, stating that Al-Oqaidi’s suspension will be effective immediately for a period of five months, along with a fine of 300,000 Saudi riyals.
The decision was made following evidence that Al-Oqaidi had requested a postponement of the national team’s camp in Qatar or special leave, a request that was rejected by the coach. The player was also found to have sent a message through WhatsApp criticizing the team management.
Moreover, Al-Oqaidi contacted the national team management to express his desire not to join the camp and later confirmed his willingness to participate. He also informed the goalkeeper coach of the national team, Massimo Battara, that he felt he would be the third-choice goalkeeper, which was unacceptable to him.
The Federation also suspended Mohammed Maran and fined him, along with Khaled Al-Ghanam and Ali Hazazi from Al-Ittihad, for one month each, imposing a fine of 200,000 Saudi riyals on each player.
The trio was suspended for insisting on leaving the camp despite not being included in the final squad for the Asia Cup, despite being reminded by the national team coach that the final list could be modified before the first official match.
Additionally, fines were imposed on Salman Al-Faraj, the captain of Al-Hilal, and Sultan Al-Ghanam, a player for Al-Nassr, amounting to 100,000 and 200,000 Saudi riyals, respectively, for their actions of not wanting to join the national team camp after being summoned for the camp in Portugal in October 2023.
Furthermore, Sultan Al-Ghanam was fined 200,000 Saudi riyals for requesting exemption from joining the national team camp before the Asia Cup.
