Sixteen words in a corridor
Al Nassr’s unbeaten run died this weekend. Beaten 2-1 by Al Ittihad, the Riyadh club took its first loss of the season. The reaction everyone is talking about happened nowhere near the pitch, but in the corridor leading to the dressing rooms.
Joao Felix started alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and played the full 90. He walked through the mixed zone without stopping, offering a single sentence to the Spanish daily AS: “I will not speak to you, because if I do, I will reveal what this league is doing.” Then nothing.
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Vague on purpose
The remark was left open. It could point at something that happened during the match. It could point at how the Saudi league is run. Felix declined to say which, and the questions now hang over both.
The backdrop is not harmless. Relations between Al Nassr, the league and the PIF, which owns several clubs in the Saudi top flight, have already produced friction. A run of flashpoints has fed criticism of how the competition is governed. Coming from a starter at the country’s most watched club, that line will land hard in Riyadh.
Al Hilal say thank you
The sporting fallout was instant. Al Hilal move back to the top of the table. Al Nassr had built the whole start of their season on a perfect record, and it ends here, in a mood Felix has done nothing to settle.
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