A Saudi media figure has sparked a wave of anger among fans of the senior national team, launching a scathing attack on striker Abdullah Al-Hamdan following his lacklustre display against Kuwait in the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf 27".
Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait 1-0 yesterday, Wednesday, at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah, in the first round of the group stage of the 27th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup.
Al-Hamdan failed to convert several chances on goal and left the pitch to jeers from the Saudi Arabia support.
Ziad Al-Khalifa, the former manager of Bahrain's national team, criticised Al-Hamdan's performance in comments to "Al-Arabiya FM" radio, pointing to a string of wrong decisions and suggesting the humidity may have been a factor.
Saudi media figure Faisal Al-Jafn contradicted Al-Khalifa, saying: "Abdullah Al-Hamdan's decisions are wrong at all times. It is not just about the humidity. We deal with him as a trial from the Lord of the Worlds that must be endured with patience."
Those comments stirred up plenty of anger among Saudi national team fans in general, and Al-Nassr supporters in particular. They felt such words should never have come from a neutral, objective media figure.
Saudi journalist Ahmed Al-Amri wrote: "The way some media figures in the programmes dealt with Abdullah Al-Hamdan's performance yesterday is, to say the least, disgraceful and disgusting".
He added: "Criticise the performance and the negatives, but keep some sense that he is a striker of your national team in an official tournament".
Al-Hamdan finished top scorer at the last edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf 26" with 3 goals, level with Bahrain's Mohammed Marhoon and Oman's Issam Al-Subhi.