Saudi Arabia apologise over ‘disgraceful’ snub of minute’s silence before Australia World Cup tie
Saudi football chiefs apologise after the national team was accused of ‘a disgraceful lack of respect’ for failing to observe a minute’s silence in honour of victims of the London terror attack
Saudi Arabia football chiefs apologised on Friday after the national team was accused of “a disgraceful lack of respect” for failing to observe a minute’s silence in Australia in honour of victims of the London terror attack.
When the stadium announcer in Adelaide called for silence before their World Cup qualifier against the Socceroos on Thursday evening, the Australian team lined up at the centre circle with arms on their teammates’ shoulders.
But most of the Saudis milled around and spread out to various parts of the field, with team officials claiming the tradition of stopping to honour the dead was “not in keeping with Saudi culture”.
It left fans and politicians in Australia fuming. Two Australians were among the eight killed last weekend when three Islamist extremists mowed down people on London Bridge before going on a stabbing spree.
“The Saudi Arabian Football Federation deeply regrets and unreservedly apologises for any offence caused by the failure ... to formally observe the one minute’s silence,” federation president Adil Ezzat said in a rare statement.
