Al-Ahli Saudi coach in the eye of the storm: a shocking celebration sets off the flames!
The Dutch head coach comes under major fire!
Ukrainian Artem Bondarenko struck twice in Al-Fayha's net, but his brace did little to settle the mood around Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia. The way Dutch coach Marino Pusic celebrated his team's goals became the focal point of a public debate after a thrilling 3-2 victory in the tenth round of the Saudi Roshn League.
Pusic's reactions took centre stage. Al-Ahli's fans spotted a difference in how he responded to Bondarenko's two goals compared with his calm after Firas Al-Buraikan's strike in the same match, and the questions spread fast across "X".
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The comparison landed at a sensitive time for Bondarenko. He had faced criticism recently for failing to produce the levels expected of him since joining Al-Ahli, before scoring the first and third goals against Al-Fayha to hand his team a crucial attacking boost in a thrilling encounter.
His brilliance put the spotlight back on Pusic's stance towards him. Previous criticism over the coach's backing for the signing had been doing the rounds, and that placed his reaction to the brace under the microscope. The public split down the middle, some seeing something worth noting in his responses, others reading them as natural reactions dictated by the atmosphere of the match.
Questions soon went beyond the celebration itself. Fans began asking how the Dutch coach handles his players and what that says about his relationship with the supporters, who follow his tactical choices and the levels of the foreign players closely as they hope to see Al-Ahli deliver a more convincing and stable performance in the coming phase.
Differences in celebration alone, though, prove nothing about whether Pusic favours Bondarenko over Al-Buraikan. The reactions may simply be tied to the nature of the moment and the context of each goal. Yet the comparison, shared so widely, shows the scale of public scrutiny of the coach's conduct. The Ukrainian's brace sealed the win over Al-Fayha, but it opened a fresh door for debate rather than closing the file of criticism.
