Walid Al-Farraj explains why Mohammed Al Owais received honour guard in Al Hilal v Al-Ittihad

Walid Al-Farraj has explained the circumstances behind the honour guard for Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais before Al Hilal’s Saudi Pro League meeting with Al-Ittihad.

Al Owais walked on to the pitch carrying the Arabian Gulf Cup “Gulf 27” trophy before kick-off, as players from both clubs formed a guard of honour to celebrate Saudi Arabia’s fourth title in the competition.

The ceremony, held at Al Hilal’s Kingdom Arena, prompted debate among supporters because the national team’s achievement was being marked at the home ground of one of the country’s leading clubs, with Al Owais also playing for Al Hilal.

Speaking on his programme Sport with Walid, Al-Farraj said the idea had originated with Al Hilal rather than the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.

He said the club had proposed recognising Al Owais, the national team captain, following Saudi Arabia’s recent triumph in the Arabian Gulf Cup. The federation then approved the suggestion, allowing the ceremony to take place before the high-profile fixture.

“It was Al Hilal’s proposal to honour the captain of the Saudi national team after recently winning the Arabian Gulf Cup,” Al-Farraj said. “The federation agreed to it. There is no bias involved.”

Al-Farraj reiterated that the initiative was not put forward by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. He added that even if the proposal had come from the Saudi Pro League, the Al Hilal-Al-Ittihad match would have been an appropriate occasion because it was one of the most prominent games of the current season and attracted a large audience.

The event had led some supporters to question whether a national team presentation should have been linked to a particular club, particularly because Al Owais is an Al Hilal player. Al-Farraj’s account was intended to clarify how the decision was reached and who approved it.

Al Hilal went on to beat Al-Ittihad 3-2 on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in the eighth round of the Saudi Pro League.

The explanation also came amid discussion of Fahad Al-Mufarrij, the current executive director of the Saudi national team, whose previous administrative career has been closely associated with Al Hilal.

However, Al-Farraj’s comments indicated that the honour guard was initiated by Al Hilal itself. There was no evidence, according to the report, that Al-Mufarrij’s background with the club had played a role in arranging the ceremony.