Al-Faraj after Al-Ahli's defeat: I hope there is an investigation into the departures of Mahrez and Kessie

Explosive statements from the famous media figure

Al-Ahli's defeat to Sundowns was no ordinary result for media pundit Waleed Al-Farraj. He believed the team threw away a chance to lift the title because of what happened on the pitch. After the match, he opened a number of files he sees as needing review, starting with the future of coach Marino Pusic and extending to earlier decisions concerning the team's stars.

Speaking on his programme "Rotana Sport with Waleed", Al-Farraj said: "I was not optimistic about Al-Ahli given the circumstances it is going through, but it failed to deliver the required level." He stressed that the start of the match made him feel his expectations might change, after Al-Ahli appeared strong and delivered a level that made him believe the team was capable of clinching the title.

"Al-Ahli were very good at the start, and I sensed that the team was capable of winning the title," he added, before turning his fire on the way the match was managed. "Sundowns were not that strong a team, but the coach's numbness and coldness in the second half wasted the chance."

For Al-Farraj, the title slipped away because nobody handled the decisive moments as they should have. "The cup was lost through the management of the moment, with the crowd in a state of turmoil," he said. Fan anger boiled over after the final whistle, he noted, matched by demands to sack Pusic, a situation he described as needing "urgent rescue."

He refused to pin the blame on the coaching staff alone, reopening the file of decisions taken before the season. "How wonderful it would be if an internal investigation were conducted into the replacements for Jaissle, Kessie and Mahrez," he said, referring to the departure of former coach Matthias Jaissle along with Franck Kessie and Riyad Mahrez, and the debate those decisions sparked about Al-Ahli's choices over the past period.

The defeat to Sundowns has lit a fresh wave of controversy around Al-Ahli. Talk has shifted from the result to the future of Pusic and the decisions that shaped the current side, with the club now hunting for a swift reaction to calm the stands after missing out on the crown.