Al Ahli players’ meeting preceded Rui Pedro Braz dismissal

Reports in Saudi Arabia say Rui Pedro Braz was removed as Al Ahli’s sporting director after the club’s players held a meeting with the executive administration following their 3-0 defeat by Al Hilal.

Al Ahli announced on Thursday that Braz had left his position, with his assistant Osama Hawsawi appointed as his replacement.

The dismissal came after Al Ahli were beaten by their traditional rivals in the Saudi Pro League’s third round on Tuesday. The match was played at Kingdom Arena, where Al Hilal secured a 3-0 victory in the latest edition of the Saudi classico.

Saudi broadcaster Thmanyah, which holds the rights to show Saudi league matches, reported that the players’ meeting with the club’s executive management was directly followed by the decision to dismiss Braz.

“Al Ahli players held a lengthy meeting with the administration after the match against Al Hilal, after which sporting director Rui Pedro was dismissed,” Thmanyah reporter Mohammed Al-Hashem said.

The Portuguese official had been in charge of sporting operations at Al Ahli since October. His departure brings a short spell at the Saudi club to an end and means Hawsawi will now take over the role previously held by Braz.

Before joining Al Ahli, Braz served as sporting director at Portuguese club Benfica from 2021 to 2025. His experience at Benfica was part of the background to his appointment by the Saudi side last October.

The change in the sporting department follows a difficult result for Al Ahli against Al Hilal, one of their main domestic rivals. The defeat at Kingdom Arena was the immediate event before the players’ meeting and the subsequent decision over Braz’s future.

Al Ahli’s announcement did not provide further details about the reasons for Braz’s dismissal. However, the account from Thmanyah linked the decision to the discussions between members of the squad and the club’s executive administration after the derby defeat.

Hawsawi, who had worked as Braz’s assistant, has now been placed in charge of the sporting director’s responsibilities. His appointment was confirmed at the same time as the club announced Braz’s removal.

The sequence of events reported by Thmanyah was therefore: Al Ahli’s loss to Al Hilal on Tuesday, a lengthy meeting involving the players and the executive administration, and Braz’s dismissal, which was announced by the club on Thursday.