Communication cut off: Shabab Al-Ahli disrupts Al-Hilal's calculations before the AFC Champions League Elite summit
A mystery in Riyadh
Confusion and uncertainty have gripped the Saudi capital Riyadh in an unprecedented incident, after communication with Emirati club Shabab Al-Ahli broke down completely less than 24 hours before their decisive clash against Al-Hilal in the AFC Champions League Elite.
Informed sources revealed to "Asharq Al-Awsat" newspaper that the Asian Football Confederation, its Saudi counterpart and Al-Hilal's management spent hours trying to reach the Emirati club to find out when the team's delegation would arrive in Riyadh. They received no response up to 1:39 pm Saudi time today, Monday.
Riyadh is gearing up to host the eagerly awaited clash between Al-Hilal and Shabab Al-Ahli tomorrow, Tuesday, in the fourth round of the West Asia league stage of the AFC Champions League Elite.
Uncertainty threatens the organisational arrangements
According to the sources, Shabab Al-Ahli's management have still not specified when the delegation will arrive, and have ignored every call from the relevant parties seeking to arrange the reception, hospitality and accommodation, despite the alarmingly close kick-off. Other sources suggested the delegation is expected before sunset today.
Several Shabab Al-Ahli officials landed in Riyadh yesterday, Sunday, alongside the match commissioner and the refereeing team assigned to the clash. That only deepened the organisers' bewilderment over why the main delegation was delayed and when exactly it would turn up.
The chaos has thrown the technical meeting into doubt. Scheduled for three o'clock this afternoon, Monday, it may go ahead as planned or be pushed back to the evening while everyone waits for the Emirati delegation.
A deleted post adds to the controversy
Social media stoked the row further. Users circulated a post they attributed to Shabab Al-Ahli's official account about the eagerly awaited clash against Al-Hilal, only for it to be deleted shortly afterwards.
All this comes after the club published a list of their November opponents yesterday, Al-Hilal first among them, while their website still runs a countdown to tomorrow's showpiece.
Hours before the eagerly awaited Asian summit, every relevant party is left waiting for a single call from Dubai to decide the fate of the match's organisational arrangements.
