 "Abderrazak Hamdallah was whipped by a fan after his team, Al-Ittihad, lost to Al-Hilal. Image: X")
In what can be described as one of the most bizarre scenes during a professional football game, one of the Al-Ittihad player, Abderrazak Hamdallah, appeared to be whipped by a fan after the team lost to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final on Thursday. After a brace from Brazilian winger Malcom and goals from Salem Al-Dawsari and Nasser Al-Dawsari led Al-Hilal to a 4-1 win over Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Super Cup final, Hamdallah, who scored the only goal for his side, got involved in an altercation with a fan.
In a video that is going viral, Hamdallah could be seen squirting water at a fan after being targeted from the stands. In reply, the fan pulled out a whip and started lashing the footballer forcing Al-Ittihad players to intervene and stop Hamdallah from reacting while others fans pushed away the man with the whip.
Meanwhile, Al-Hilal stayed on course for an unprecedented four titles this year after their latest win. They are 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League with just seven games remaining.
Al-Hilal, also in the semifinals of the Asian Champions League and the Saudi King’s Cup, have extended their world record winning streak for top-tier teams to 34 consecutive games in all competitions.
Al-Hilal returns to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday to take on Al-Ain in the first leg of the Asian Champions League semifinals as they seek a record fifth continental title.
The club’s potentially record-breaking season comes after they spent about 350 million euros ($380 million) on player transfers after being taken over by the Saudi sovereign wealth operation, the Public Investment Fund which is controlled by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
With AP inputs