If you ever played any sport, and happened to have a bad game, you know you could be booed. Much more than a boo: a fan whips Moroccan soccer player, Abderrazak Hamdallah, in public in the UAE. Hamdallah´s team, Al Ittihad, had just fallen 4-1 in the Saudi Super Cup final to bitter rivals, Al Hilal, on April 11, 2024. After all, we do get the word ´fan´ directly from ´fanatic.´ Fan whips player wells up from a deep-rooted place called fanaticism.
Social media video quickly showed the shocking strike. Hamdallah, a 33-year-old striker from Morocco, walked towards the endline stands shortly after the game. He threw water from a bottle at a robed man who stood screaming at him.
Fan Whips Helpless Hamdallah
The spectator suddenly reveals an Indiana-Jones-style bull whip which he lashes at the helpless Hamdallah. The fan whips the player below him at least twice. Bystanders rush in to limit the carnage. Another young spectator in a wheelchair is almost dragged into the ridiculous uproar.
Al-Ittihad flopped in the final to league leader Al-Hilal, 4–1. But Hamdallah got on the score sheet with his team’s only goal. The Moroccan also fluffed a penalty kick. Al-Hilal then bounced back by converting three unanswered chances.
Hamdallah has been lacing up his boots in Saudi Arabia since 2018. Previously he suited up in Qatar, China, and Norway, as well as his native Morocco. The attacker spearheaded Al-Ittihad with 25 goals last season as the club won its first title since 2009.
Al Ittihad Fortifies Pricey Team
Adding several high-profile (and pricey) transfers before this season, including Frenchmen Karim Benzema and N´Golo Kanté along with Brazilian Fabinho, Ittihad fortified their squad. Yet the club still languishes in fourth in the Saudi Pro League standings, according to Dan Gartland at Sports Illustrated.
To add insult to injury from fan whips, forever-injured Brazilian ace Neymar Jr. received a winner´s medal, despite not setting foot on the field for a single second of the final. “Just like in school: your group does the work, and you collect the grade,” Ney cracked.
On the other hand, German international star Toni Kroos called the Saudis out for their abysmal human rights record. Despite the billions readily available in the oil-rich kingdom, Kroos has steadfastly refused a lucrative move to the desert.
Toni Kroos Strongly Criticizes Saudis
In the 2023 summer, Kroos stressed to SI that the human rights debacle in the country was “the one thing that would stop me from making such a change.”
“People say they play ambitious football there, but it’s all about the money. It’s a decision for the money and against football. And from there, things start to get difficult for the football we know and love,” Kroos concluded.
Kroos plies his trade in Spain where racism is still rife. At least the Spanish fans don´t have whips on hand. The larger question is: how can Saudi Arabia be in the running to win the enormous right to host the prestigious 2034 FIFA World Cup? Will fan whips be on show?
The Saudi government banned public flogging in 2019. Yet authorities there can still hold people for months with no charge. After all the supposed deaths in Qatar from building one-use stadiums in the boiling sand, FIFA seems way less concerned with human rights than cold hard cash.
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Prolific hoops and soccer writer Will Beebe grew up in Connecticut, and fell for all the Boston-based teams, for better or worse. He´s attended 10 consecutive World Cups in person, and recently published his book, ´Soccer Giants of Brazil: One American´s Take on Samba Soccer Culture,´ after living in Brazil for 20 years.
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