En-Nesyri in the dock, and the reason is Yassine Bounou!

A major shock stuns an Atlas Lion

Youssef En-Nesyri refused to celebrate his goal against Al Hilal. Instead, the Al Ittihad striker went straight to his compatriot Yassine Bounou, the Riyadh giants' goalkeeper, during the eighth-round clasico of the Saudi Roshn League. That gesture put him squarely in the firing line, sparking widespread debate and splitting opinion between those who saw a humane moment between friends and those who felt it had no place in a rivalry this fierce.

The goal itself arrived in the 22nd minute, a rocket of a shot that caught Bounou by surprise and, at that stage, Al Ittihad's only reply. En-Nesyri turned away from his own fans and embraced the Al Hilal keeper, a scene that laid bare the bond between the two Moroccans.

Then came the 3-2 defeat, and with it the backlash. Some supporters felt the striker owed his own team more passion and his opponent rather less consolation.

Media attack
Saudi media figure and sports pundit Abdullah Falatah is among the most prominent critics of the Al-Ittihad striker's behaviour, arguing that friendship with Bono does not justify refusing to celebrate an important goal in a match of the Clasico's magnitude, especially as En-Nesyri wears the shirt of a side competing strongly for titles.
Falatah tore into the forward: "If you, En-Nesyri, were a player at Al-Hilal, I could understand you not celebrating, and that is part of football etiquette. But not celebrating because of Bono, and going over to console him after a goal you scored? No, sorry, that is a mistake and unacceptable in football."
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At the heart of it sits a disagreement over where friendship between players should stop once the big games arrive. Some reckon respecting personal relationships takes nothing away from professionalism. Others insist the shirt comes first, along with the fans who expect their players to fight until the end.

AFP
A special relationship
En-Nesyri's stance made sense when you consider his relationship with Bounou. His refusal to celebrate wasn't a dismissal of the goal's importance or of his desire to help Al-Ittihad. It was a personal gesture towards a friend and Morocco team-mate. Such is the sensitivity of a Clasico, though, that the moment drew interpretations and criticism well beyond anything the player intended.
That embrace between En-Nesyri and Bounou became one of the most talked-about scenes of the Clasico, overshadowing the goal the Al-Ittihad striker had just scored.
Some see sporting spirit worth applauding. Others have put him in the dock for not celebrating. The question remains: was En-Nesyri wrong to show his friendship, or should competition on the pitch never erase human bonds off it?

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Media attack

A special relationship

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