Watch: Astonishing moment fan whips player in Saudi Super Cup final
The Saudi Cup final was marred by disgraceful scenes on Thursday night as a fan appeared to whip one of the players in an astonishing incident at the end of the match.
Al-Hilal beat Al-Ittihad 4-1 in the final of the Saudi Super Cup to stay on course for an unprecedented quadruple.
At the end of the match, Al-Ittihad striker Abderrazak Hamdallah was pictured remonstrating with a supporter in the stands and appeared to throw water in their direction. The supporter responded by twice unleashing a whip that struck the 33-year-old.
😦 Increíble lo que acaba de suceder en Arabia: latigazos de un aficionado a un jugador del Al-Ittihad
Con el partido terminado el jugador le tiro agua y este respondió de esta forma 👀 pic.twitter.com/cisHUoxdbl— MARCA (@marca) April 11, 2024
The striker’s team-mates and club staff then rushed in to shepherd Hamdallah from the scene before security intervened.
Hamdallah scored for Al-Ittihad but could not stop his side – containing Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté – suffering a chastening defeat.
Al-Hilal, also in the semi-final of the Asian Champions League and the Saudi King’s Cup, extended their world record winning streak for top-tier teams to 34 consecutive games in all competitions.
Three days after defeating Al-Nassr in the semi-final, during which Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for elbowing Ali Al-Bulaihi, two goals from Brazilian winger Malcom did the damage for Al-Hilal. Salem Al-Dawsari and Nasser Al-Dawsari sealed the win with late goals.
“It was a difficult game and I am very happy to score two goals,” Malcom told Saudi television. “We are also happy to collect our first title of the season but we are chasing more trophies.”
In 2023, the Saudi Super Cup was expanded from a single game between the league champion and King’s Cup winner to include the runners-up from both competitions. It was also moved to Abu Dhabi.
Al-Hilal return to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday to take on Al-Ain in the first leg of the Asian Champions League semifinals as they seek a record fifth continental title.
The club’s potentially record-breaking season comes after they spent about over £300 million on player transfers after being taken over by the Saudi sovereign wealth operation, the Public Investment Fund, which is controlled by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.