Bandar Falaqi Al-Nadi/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Al-Ittihad Club lodged a complaint with the Presidency of Youth Welfare seeking action against a Saudi sports official for allegedly insulting one of its players on Twitter. Saud Al-Sahli, assistant director of public relations and announcer at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, was accused of calling Fahd Al-Muwallad “a monkey” in one of his tweets. Sahli tweeted: “The last match between Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad clearly revealed the indecency of Al-Ittihad players through two movements – one from ‘the monkey' Fahd Al-Muwallad who did not stop proceeding when Muhammad Al-Qarni was injured in a jostle with him. Secondly, (they) did not fulfill the commitment to Majed Al-Murshidi, and did not greet or thank him.” Later, while attending a radio talk show, Sahli told journalist Thamer Al-Humaid that his Twitter account had been hacked after the tweets he had made on May 11. Sahli's comments sparked outrage at a time when Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad are attempting to play down the unfortunate incident that took place in the stadium during their King's Cup encounter. Some Al-Hilal fans had shouted “Nigger, Nigger” at an Al-Ittihad player in the stadium. The two clubs had expressed regret over what happened and vowed to take steps to avoid a repeat of such incidents. They had also agreed not to blow up the issue any further. Lambasting the tweets made by Sahli, several fans sought the urgent intervention of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to stop the “indecent trend”. Salman Namsshan tweeted: “I do not agree with his remarks, especially in view of the position he holds.” Wail Al-Najjar, spokesman for Al-Ittihad, said the club formally sent a complaint to Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal, head of the Youth Welfare Presidency, against Sahli. “Al-Muwallad will not give up until justice is done,” he added.
