JEDDAH, 25 November 2007 — President of the Saudi Youth Welfare Presidency Prince Sultan ibn Fahd accepted yesterday the resignation of Ittihad club President Mansour Al-Balawi and assigned the presidency’s Deputy President Jamal Abu Omara to lead the club for the next period.
The decision comes following Muhammad Kallon’s decision to leave Al-Hilal in Riyadh to come and play for Al-Ittihad.
Prince Muhammad ibn Faisal, president of Hilal, accused Al-Balawi of smuggling Kallon from Riyadh to play for Ittihad.
“I was surprised at what Al-Balawi did. He broke the rules and regulations of Saudi football when he smuggled the player from Riyadh to Jeddah on his private airplane,” said Prince Muhammad in a statement to the press. He also accused Al-Balawi of destroying honest competition between the two teams.
Prince Muhammad said that to do such a thing does not benefit Ittihad or Saudi football in general. “This strange behavior from the Ittihad club president should not go unpunished,” said Prince Muhammad. “Such behavior will jeopardize the relationship between the two clubs.” He also called on Prince Sultan to take a decision on Kallon, even deportation.
In a press conference on Friday, Al-Balawi denied the allegations. He also said he had not kidnapped the player on his private jet.
“I hoped that the media would be careful when reporting such rumors and involving the name of Ittihad in such scandal. We already have three players registered for Ittihad to play this season. We cannot add another fourth player because that is against the rules,” Al-Balawi had said.
He added that he was not responsible for anyone coming to Jeddah and accused Hilal of involving the name of Ittihad in deals that they fail to conclude. “Is it possible that I would pay SR25 million to ruin Hilal’s deal. I wish they wouldn’t attribute their failure to us,” said Al-Balawi.
The resignation came as a relief to Hilal fans, who said that Al-Balawi was destroying Saudi football by interfering in the affairs of other club.
Sultan Al-Otaibi, a Hilal fan, said that Al-Balawi was responsible for stealing Ahmad Al-Dokhi. “We all remember the time he stole the player from us and kidnapped him on his private jet to Jeddah in order for him to sign the deal,” he said, adding that he hopes Al-Balawi will not return to the club’s presidency.
Muhsin Al-Shebani, an Ittihad fan, said, “The era of Mansour Al-Balawi was described as the best and golden times of Ittihad. Al-Balawi changed the club into what we see now as a modern club and an example of how international clubs should be. I do not believe that Al-Balawi resigned and I think he was forced to resign because of Hilal. If Al-Balawi was guilty then we would like to see the evidence of his guilt.”
Al-Shebani added that fans would continue to support Ittihad against Hilal next Saturday. He said that all Ittihad fans will stand next to the club and if Mansour was once a president of the club and no more now, Ittihad as an icon remains.
