Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal appears to be withdrawing from the Saudi Super Cup, which kicks off in Hong Kong on 19 August, the South China Morning Post reports. The Riyadh-based football team has won the last three editions of the four-team tournament.
In its communications with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), Al Hilal reportedly cited player exhaustion as their reason for pulling out. The team beat Manchester City earlier this month to reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals, in a win described by Al Jazeera as “one of the greatest wins in Middle Eastern football history.” They were subsequently defeated by Brazil’s Fluminense.
However, a spokesman for the Saudi Super Cup said organisers “had not received any notification or updates from the SAFF regarding changes to the participating teams”.
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According to local media in Saudi Arabia, SAFF was in the process of reviewing what repercussions Al-Hilal could face for withdrawing. These could include a 500,000-riyal (US$133,300) fine and being banned from next year’s edition.
The first batch of Saudi Super Cup tickets sold out on Tuesday. While Al-Hilal was listed as playing – along with Cristiano Ronaldo’s team Al-Nassr, Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad and Al-Qadisiyah – a disclaimer noted that participating teams might be subject to change.
This will be Hong Kong’s first time hosting the Saudi Super Cup, making it the second city outside of Saudi Arabia the competition has taken place. London hosted it in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
