Al-Ahli Fans Demand Pusic's Exit After Mini-Clasico Defeat
The boos started as a murmur, then rolled around the SHG Arena like a storm. By half-time of the mini-Clasico against Al-Shabab, the verdict from the travelling Al-Ahli support was brutal and unmistakable.
“Pusic out.”
One half of football was all it took for the tension that had been building around Dutch coach Marino Pusic to erupt in public, in unison, and on a big stage.
Red card, missed chances, rising anger
Al-Ahli arrived in Riyadh for the twelfth round of the Roshn League with expectations of a statement performance. Instead, the first 45 minutes turned into a nightmare.
Al-Shabab tore into them, carving out chance after chance. The hosts led 3-1 at the break and, if anything, the scoreline flattered Al-Ahli. Al-Shabab had already wasted a string of dangerous opportunities.
Then came the flashpoint that tipped the mood from concern to fury. In the 22nd minute, Al-Ahli’s goalkeeper Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi – “the Elegant” – was sent off, leaving his side a man down and exposed. From there, Al-Shabab attacked at will. The pressure, the gaps, the chaos: it all fed into a sense among the away fans that their team had lost control, and their coach had lost his grip.
When the referee blew for half-time, the football stopped. The chanting did not.
Long memory, short patience
The hostility towards Pusic did not appear out of thin air in Riyadh. Sections of the Al-Ahli fanbase had already turned on him in recent weeks, and they have not been shy about showing it.
One of the main flashpoints has been the signing of Ukrainian midfielder Artem Bondarenko from Shakhtar. Many supporters have questioned that move and used it as a symbol of what they see as flawed decision-making under the current regime. The anger around Bondarenko’s arrival has repeatedly spilled into open criticism of Pusic.
So when the team folded in the first half against Al-Shabab, all of that frustration found a target. The chants of “Pusic out” were not a one-off emotional outburst. They were the loudest expression yet of a growing campaign.
Strong record, weak credit
Strip away the emotion and the numbers tell a different story.
Pusic only took charge at the start of the current season, stepping in after German coach Matthias Jaissle. Since then, he has overseen 16 matches in all competitions: 11 wins, four defeats, one draw. On paper, that is a solid return for a coach still bedding in at a club with big expectations and an ever-demanding fanbase.
But records do not chant. Crowds do.
In Jeddah, the standards are unforgiving. A high win percentage is not always enough if the performances do not convince, the big games go wrong, or key signings divide opinion. The mini-Clasico in Riyadh, with a red card, a 3-1 deficit, and a team under siege, crystallised all those doubts in 45 punishing minutes.
Now the question hangs over Al-Ahli’s season: does the club back a coach with strong results but a weakening bond with the stands, or does the sound of “Pusic out” start to shape the next decision in the dugout?
