Saudi Gazette Report

RIYADH — Yasser Al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), said that SAFF did not interfere in financing the deal for Cristiano Ronaldo or any other player for Saudi clubs.

He said this while reacting to Al-Nassr Club’s signing of a contract with the Portuguese international star Cristiano Ronaldo. “Ronaldo’s deal will definitely represent a great addition to the Saudi League,” he said while expecting that there will be more big deals to come.

Referring to the victory of Al-Hilal over Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca to secure a semi-final berth in the FIFA Club World Cup, Al-Misehal hoped that Al-Hilal, the Asian champions, would continue its win in the semi-finals and finals.

“We have not seen either the Spanish or Brazilian football federations talk about the participants in the Club World Cup. But SAFF is ready to extend support to Al-Hilal Club as an honor to Saudi football,” he said.

Al-Misehal indicated that Al-Hilal has become the leading club in representing the country abroad. He expressed happiness over the team’s qualification to the semi-final match against Brazil’s Flamengo in the Club World Cup. SAFF president said that he is traveling to Morocco to support Al-Hilal in its semi-final against Flamengo, scheduled to be held in Tangier on Tuesday.

With regard to the disciplinary action against Al-Hilal midfielder Mohamed Kanno, Al-Misehal said that there was a protest lodged against the player’s participation, but the Disciplinary Committee at SAFF refused and stated that the participation was valid, saying that it is clear that the case has not been closed yet, and the issue is pending before judicial authorities and that must be respected.

Al-Misehal indicated that SAFF believed that the player’s participation as a Saudi national team member in the World Cup was legal.