Court Date Costs Al-Ahli Star Striker Ivan Toney
Al-Ahli walked into Riyadh’s SHG Arena for their mini clasico with Al-Shabab without the striker they built this season around. Not because of injury. Not because of suspension. Because of a courtroom.
Ivan Toney, the club’s marquee English forward, was ruled out of the Roshn League clash after attending a hearing at Southwark Crown Court in England on Thursday on a charge of assaulting a person by battery. The timing of the case left him with no realistic route back in time for Friday’s fixture.
The trip, the logistics, the schedule – it all beat the clock.
Saudi outlet Arriyadiyah reported that Toney simply ran out of time to make the Al-Shabab game. Instead of leading the line in Riyadh, he is now expected to rejoin Al-Ahli directly in Qatar, where Marino Pusic’s side face Al-Sadd on Monday in the AFC Champions League Elite.
Pusic forced into a reshuffle
With Toney unavailable, Pusic had to rip up his attacking plan on the eve of a key league match. The Dutchman turned to Firas Al-Buraikan as his central striker, asking the Saudi international to carry the scoring burden in one of the season’s marquee domestic fixtures.
On either side of him, there was no hiding place. Francisco Trincao operated as one of the main creative outlets, with Brazilian Matheus Goncalves also pushed into a prominent role to inject pace and unpredictability in the final third.
The surprise came a little deeper in the squad list. Wenderson Galeno, finally recovered from the injury that had ruled him out of the last four matches, did not walk straight back into the starting XI. The Brazilian winger instead took a place next to Pusic on the bench, an option rather than a guarantee.
Another big call came in goal. Despite travelling with the team to Riyadh, Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy did not even make the squad. Pusic kept faith with Saudi keeper Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi, rewarding his recent performances and sending a clear message about competition for places.
Line-up under pressure
Al-Ahli arrived in the capital sitting sixth in the Roshn League table, on 21 points from 7 wins and 3 defeats. Respectable, but not enough for a club with their ambition and investment. Al-Shabab, twelfth on 11 points, offered both a danger and an opportunity – a wounded opponent, but one with the tools to punish any complacency.
Without Toney, every detail of the XI mattered. Pusic sent his team out as follows:
- Goalkeeper: Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi
- Defence: Mohammed Abdulrahman – Roger Ibanez – Rayan Hamed – Saad Balobaid
- Midfield: Valentin Atangana – Artem Bondarenko – Ziyad Al-Johani
- Attack: Francisco Trincao – Firas Al-Buraikan – Saleh Abu Al-Shamat
It was a line-up built to press, to run, to share the responsibility that usually falls on one English centre-forward’s shoulders.
The legal process in London has already cost Al-Ahli a headline name for one of their standout league fixtures. The real question now is whether this disruption is a one-night inconvenience – or the first sign of a season that will have to be navigated around more than just what happens on the pitch.
