 "SAFF bans Al Hilal from Saudi Super Cup 2026-27 after pullout from Hong Kong tournament")
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s disciplinary and ethics committee has banned the reigning Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal from participating in the next edition of the Saudi Super Cup. The decision has come following the club’s withdrawal from the tournament this year. Additionally, the committee has also slapped a fine of SR500,000 on the club.
The punishment further includes withholding any financial rewards allocated to Al Hilal from the 2025-26 Super Cup.
Al Hilal suffer ban after pulling out of the Saudi Super Cup
Al Hilal decided to pull out owing to the strenuous stint in the inaugural Club World Cup , where the team gave its all and reached the quarterfinal stage. The club eventually suffered a loss to Fluminese and got eliminated. The team also gave competition to European heavyweights in the CWC. Notably, they held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw. Given, the level of tough football the club was engaged in recently, it has decided to give its players some much-needed rest and consequently opted out of the Saudi Super Cup.
“Al Hilal refused to participate in the Saudi Super Cup for the 2025-2026 season after the official schedule for the competition was issued,” the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee said in a statement.
“As a result, the committee ruled that Al Hilal had violated Article (59-3) of the Disciplinary and Ethics Regulations and fined the club 500,000 Saudi Riyals ($133,000) to be paid to the SAFF,” the statement added.
The committee said the decision is subject to appeal.
To fill the void of Al Hilal, the Saudi Football Federation’s Competitions Committee has announced the AFC Champions League winners Al Ahli as the replacement in the four-team competition, which includes Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, and Al Qadsiah. The Saudi Super Cup is scheduled to be played from August 19-23 in Hong Kong.
In a related subject, the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee fined Al Shadab SR125,000 and banned the club from the next edition of the Women’s Saudi Super Cup after it refused to participate in the tournament following the release of its schedule.
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