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FBL-ENG-PR-NEWCASTLE-HULLAFP
Ahmad Salah
Translated by

Widespread anger: did Newcastle deliberately provoke Al-Ahly after the Sundowns shock?

Mamelodi Sundowns FC vs Al Ahli
Mamelodi Sundowns FC
Al Ahli
FIFA Intercontinental Cup
Newcastle United vs Hull City
Newcastle United
Hull City
Premier League
M. Jaissle
South Africa
Saudi Arabia
England
Germany

Al-Majbayes' comment fires up the Saudi fans

Al-Ahli Saudi's meltdown boiled over in South Africa on Saturday. A 2-1 defeat to Sundowns in the final of the Intercontinental Cup for clubs tipped the fans of "Al-Raqi" into fury, the latest low for a team crowned AFC Champions League Elite winners in each of the last two seasons.

German head coach Matthias Jaissle has gone to Newcastle United. So too have a string of the club's stars, with Riyad Mahrez and Franck Kessie among those released or not renewed. Al-Ahli walked into the current campaign in disarray on every front.

While Al-Ahli were losing to Sundowns, Newcastle were toasting a 2-1 win over Hull City before the international break. They sit eighth on 8 points in the Premier League, four adrift of runners-up Arsenal and leaders Manchester City, who can push the gap out to 7 points ahead of the Magpies today when they face Sunderland.

The English club's delight at that result went down rather differently, though, among Al-Ahli's fans and the supporters of their local rivals.

  • The search for an answer: why did Jaissle leave?

    Newcastle United's Arabic account posted a photo of Yaisle smiling after the match, captioned: "The feeling of going into the international break as a winner."



    Saudi fans pounced on the tweet. Some read it as a dig aimed at Al-Ahli, while others wondered aloud, and with real regret, why Yaisle ever left the "fortress of trophies".

    Abu Nawar wrote: "What are the reasons behind Matias's departure? If you have the answer, I hope you can enlighten us."



    The account SH said: "God protect us, have mercy on them," while fayez_1976f added: "It was intentional."

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  • Downplaying and praise: an accusation of dismantling Al-Ahly

    Hani, an apparent Al-Ahli supporter, took the opposite view. He rounded on the German coach with a scathing dismissal: "You'll see, he was a coach carried by Mahrez and Kessie, don't be fooled, time will reveal it to you and you'll see it, and he's laughing at you, you lowly one of England".



    Saad Al-Hariri's account struck a very different note: "This coach has a passion for coaching and is technically present. Newcastle changed with his presence and became a heavyweight team, and moreover, the league is one of the best leagues in the world".



    "Abu Battal", another of Al-Ahli's supporters, weighed in: "This tweet is clearly from the same person who dismantled Al-Ahli after 2016".

    One more zeroed in on the timing of the tweet: "Rudeness, I swear to God".

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