Al-Faraj: I didn’t target any player… Al-Nassr has exposed the crisis within the Saudi national team

The well-known pundit Walid Al-Faraj has made some controversial remarks in response to the criticism he has faced recently, following his comments about certain players, chief among them Al-Nassr goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi.

Al-Faraj had faced fierce criticism from Al-Nassr fans for his attack on Al-Aqidi, following the latter’s disastrous performance on the night the Saudi national team lost 4-0 to their Egyptian counterparts.

Media personality Walid Al-Faraj said in comments on his programme “Action with Walid” that he does not target any specific player in the Saudi national team, explaining: “I have not attacked any player unless they committed a serious mistake, and this is normal in the world of football.”

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Al-Faraj added: “When I criticise any player, I don’t care about his club or where he plays, because I’m not afraid of anyone. Some say I don’t attack Yasser Al-Misehal, the president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, but the truth is that he faces criticism from everyone, so is it logical for the criticism to be directed solely at me?”

He went on to discuss Al-Nassr’s victory over Al-Najma, saying: “Al-Nassr put in a tremendous performance, but Al-Najma also played well, and the result does not reflect the overall picture.”

He concluded: “Al-Nassr managed to unlock Abdullah Al-Hamdan’s potential; the player is performing at a high level, unlike his experience with Al-Hilal, which shows that local players need to play regularly in order to serve the Saudi national team.”

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