Tensions have ratcheted up in the Saudi Roshn League over the past few hours, and not just in the race for the title. The scrap to avoid relegation is heating up too.
Among the clubs staring down the drop is Abha, who slumped to a seventh defeat in nine games on Saturday, beaten 0-2 by NEOM in the eleventh round of the Roshn League.
Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat" report that Abha's board have threatened to resign en masse, furious that the Roshn League Association's Financial Control Committee has refused to let them sack Croatian coach Damir Buric.
That committee places restrictions on how clubs handle contracts, with coaches and players alike, on financial grounds. It is precisely that red tape which has left Abha stuck with their Croatian boss.
Abha want to bring in Algerian coach Noureddine Benzekri to spearhead the fight against the drop this season, a job he has made his trademark at several clubs in recent years.
Rock bottom in eighteenth place, Abha have mustered just two points. Two draws, seven defeats and not a single win to their name.