A Al-Hilal fan has caused a major stir by deciding to switch allegiances and support their neighbours and traditional rivals Al-Nassr for the foreseeable future.
Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr are considered the most prominent traditional rivals in the Saudi Pro League and are competing for the title this season, with ‘Al-Alamy’ topping the table on 70 points, five points clear of ‘Al-Za’im’ in second place.
A Al-Hilal fan named Saad made a phone call to Saudi radio station "UFM", announcing that he was switching his football allegiance to become a supporter of Al-Nassr for the coming period.
Read also: Inzaghi recalls the dark days of Al-Ittihad Jeddah... and speaks about Benzema’s situation
The fan said: “There’s an issue that really gets to me regarding tickets. It’s true that I support Al-Hilal, but everyone supports Al-Nassr – from the fans to the management – to the extent that ticket prices for their matches have been reduced to 10 riyals.”
He added: “On the contrary, at Al-Hilal, no one does the same; fans have to pay the full 70 riyals to attend the next match, and that really upsets me.”
He added: “I used to be a huge Al-Hilal fan and I’d love to attend every match, but as a student I can’t afford to pay 70 riyals for every game, so I wish we could be like Al-Nassr.”
He continued: “What Al-Nassr is doing is building a new fan base for itself, whether because of Cristiano Ronaldo or others. To be honest with you, my loyalty to Al-Hilal has waned, and it has now grown for Al-Nassr, and I will be attending the team’s upcoming matches.”
He concluded: “My attachment to Al-Nassr has grown because they value their fans, and their fans are like no others. Also, because Al-Hilal let me down in the AFC Champions League (last season) – I came all the way from Riyadh to Jeddah to support them, but they didn’t win it.”