From Vinícius to Bondarenko: how did the Bernabéu's whistles reach the Saudi league?
Real Madrid's curse strikes Rodrygo: so what is the reason?
In football, fans can be a team's greatest asset. They back their players, lending them an extra strength that lifts performances above those of their rivals. But it doesn't always work that way.
Recent years have told a different story. At certain moments, supporters have become a weapon that unsettles the team rather than driving it on, sapping the players rather than lifting them.
Artem Bondarenko: the latest victim
Ukraine midfielder Artem Bondarenko became the latest victim of this phenomenon. Al-Ahli's new signing from Shakhtar Donetsk found himself in an extremely difficult situation during the clash with Al-Riyadh in the Roshn League.
Al-Ahli thrashed Al-Riyadh 5-0 last night, Friday, at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in the fifth round of the Saudi Roshn League.
One incident stood out. Al-Ahli's own fans jeered the Ukrainian relentlessly from the first whistle to the last.
Why? Because those same supporters had launched a campaign to block his signing, arguing the club needed a better option in midfield. Al-Ahli pressed ahead regardless.
That deal infuriated the fans, and they aimed much of their fury at former Portuguese sporting director Rui Pedro Braz. He was relieved of his post on Thursday.
The behaviour of the supporters angered the players too. Brazilian defender Roger Ibañez, Senegalese goalkeeper Édouard Mendy and England striker Ivan Toney led the objections, along with Dutch coach Marino Pusic.
Even club legends weighed in. Hussein Abdulghani among them called on the fans to back every player who wears the badge, insisting that support is the only way to get the best out of them.
Ali Al-Bulaihi: the pioneer of jeers
Fans jeering their own players was a rare sight in the Saudi league, and Ali Al-Bulaihi, now at Al-Shabab, is reckoned to be the first to suffer it in recent years, back when he wore the shirt of Al-Hilal.
It began early last year. Al-Hilal's results were sliding under Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, and Al-Bulaihi was not at his best.
Supporters of "the Boss" turned on the international defender in more than one match. He was one of the team's leaders, in his eighth year at the club, but none of that spared him their fury.
Jesus, along with Al-Hilal legends such as Sami Al-Jaber, urged the fans to end the practice and back the players whatever the circumstances.
Abdulilah Al-Omari: affection after animosity
The same thing happened at the start of last season, but this time at Al-Nassr, and once again under the watch of Jesus, after he moved to coach "Al-Alami".
Abdulelah Al-Amri was the victim this time. The Saudi defender drew widespread fan anger for his insistence on joining traditional rivals Al-Ittihad before last season kicked off.
It didn't stop there. Al-Amri refused to celebrate the team's goals, a clear sign of his objection to staying against his will.
Al-Nassr's supporters answered with jeers. That angered Jesus, who rounded furiously on the fans and demanded they stop, which is exactly what happened.
What a turnaround followed. Having started the season as an enemy of Al-Nassr's fans, Al-Amri became one of the team's leaders and a darling of the very same supporters. He threw himself into defending the shirt and helped fire them to the Saudi Roshn League title.
From the Bernabéu to the Saudi League
Jeering the home side happens in every stadium on the planet, but nowhere carries the reputation of the Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid's home has seen plenty of it down the years.
Last season took it to another level. The Whites won nothing and stumbled through a run of poor results, and the whistles grew louder with every setback.
Fans turned on their own, collectively and individually. Vinicius Junior bore the brunt of it, with French pair Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni also singled out.
Florentino Perez did not take it well. The Real Madrid president branded the jeering illogical and urged supporters to stop, especially once it began landing on him personally.
Why have jeers reached the Saudi league?
The jeering that has crept into the Saudi League boils down to one thing: fans feeling ignored, their opinions and emotions brushed aside as if they count for nothing.
Al-Hilal's supporters did not turn on Ali Al-Bulaihi overnight. It took several matches of woeful defending, with goal after goal ending up in the back of the net, before the jeers began.
Throughout that spell, the fans ran campaign after campaign demanding that fellow international Hassan Tambakti partner Senegal's Kalidou Koulibaly at Al-Bulaihi's expense, particularly as Tambakti had proven his worth in his handful of appearances.
Jesus refused to budge. As Al-Bulaihi's errors piled up, the fans saw no option but to jeer him, piling pressure on the Portuguese coach and forcing him to abandon his stance. They only relented once they got what they wanted.
Al-Amri's case followed the same pattern. The fans only rounded on him once they saw him refuse to celebrate the team's goals, making it plain to everyone that he wore the badge against his will and would not play for their sake.
Everything changed once the Saudi defender backed down and apologised to Al-Nassr's fans. Peace broke out between the two sides, and he went on to become one of the team's leaders and most influential figures.
Bondarenko was not the one at fault in his own crisis, yet the root cause was identical. Al-Ahli's management ignored the fans' views and pushed through the signing of a player nobody wanted.
With the board refusing to back down, the fans had no other outlet for their anger and rejection than to jeer the player. He found himself the victim of a conflict he was never part of.
