Al-Shabab's Spanish coach, Imanol Alguacil, sparked controversy following his team's surprising 1-0 defeat to Al-Kholoud in the 21st round of the Saudi Professional League. In the post-match press conference, Alguacil launched a scathing attack on the refereeing decisions, deeming them the primary reason for his team's loss.
Alguacil expressed his deep frustration, saying, “The refereeing decisions were absolutely terrible. The referee disallowed a perfectly valid goal and also failed to award us a clear penalty.” He added angrily, “This isn’t the first time we’ve been affected by poor and impactful refereeing decisions this season, and it’s incredibly frustrating for us as a team that works so hard to achieve positive results.”.
Match context and team performance
Despite his harsh criticism of the referee, the Spanish coach did not absolve his players of responsibility. He admitted that his team squandered numerous scoring opportunities, indicating that his players did not take the chances they had in front of goal seriously enough. He continued, "We wasted more than one clear opportunity, and the crossbar denied us a shot that could have changed the course of the match." In contrast, Alguacil praised Al-Khulud's performance, acknowledging that they played a good, well-organized game defensively and successfully capitalized on their opportunity to score the winning goal.
The impact of the loss on the youth career
This loss compounds Al-Shabab's woes this season, leaving the team in a position unworthy of its history and the ambitions of its fans. Following this round, the "White Lions" remain stuck on 19 points in 13th place, a precarious position that puts the team under immense pressure in the remaining league matches. This result represents another blow to the team's hopes of improving its standing and climbing towards the mid-table positions.
Refereeing controversy in the Saudi League
Alguacil's comments, who boasts an impressive coaching record, most notably leading Real Sociedad to victory in the Copa del Rey, have reignited the debate surrounding the standard of refereeing in the Saudi Professional League. With the league's significant development and its attraction of international stars, refereeing errors, even with the introduction of VAR (Video Assistant Referee) technology, have come under increased scrutiny from the media and fans. This places growing pressure on the referees' committee to improve the officiating system to match the league's newfound global stature.
