Waleed Muath reveals the secrets of the Kano case and the reason for removing Al-Nafie's picture
Waleed Muath, former vice president of the Dispute Resolution Chamber of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, emphasized the need to strengthen the principles of integrity and transparency within Saudi sports. He stressed that the current phase Saudi sports are experiencing requires highly qualified legal professionals and a deep understanding of sports regulations. This came during his televised interview on the program "In the Goal," where he addressed several sensitive issues that have recently preoccupied the sports community.
The importance of legal culture in the Saudi League
Given the rapid development of the Saudi Professional League and its attraction of some of the world's top stars, Muath emphasized the importance of disseminating legal awareness among all stakeholders in the sports system. He explained that the selection of members of judicial committees must be done with utmost care to ensure fairness, noting that a lack of precise legal understanding could lead to public and media dissatisfaction with committee decisions. He added that the fan experience in stadiums still requires significant improvements, and that while the refereeing system is not glaringly bad, the mechanism for selecting foreign referees needs to be reviewed to enhance the quality of competition.
Behind the scenes of the Mohammed Kano case
Regarding the controversial case involving Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr clubs and player Mohamed Kanno, considered one of the most sensational cases in the history of Saudi professional football, Muath denied the existence of any complex legal difficulties. He said, "The Mohamed Kanno case wasn't legally difficult, but it was highly publicized by the media and fans. We didn't delay issuing the ruling, and we weren't subjected to any pressure or dictates to steer the decision in a particular direction." He emphasized that the only communication with the committee was limited to inquiries about the date of the decision's announcement, reflecting the committee's independence at that time.
The story behind Majid Al-Nafie's photo and the conflict of interest
In a related matter concerning Al-Ahli, Waleed Muath revealed the true reason behind the removal of the image of former club president Majid Al-Nafie. He explained that it wasn't personal, but rather a reaction to Al-Nafie's disengagement from following club news. He stated, "Al-Nafie stopped following club news, and consequently, his image was removed." He concluded by raising a fundamental question about the concept of conflict of interest within judicial committees, citing a hypothetical example of committee heads working for law firms that might have contracts with companies affiliated with the president of the federation. This, he argued, necessitates a precise clarification of the regulations to ensure complete impartiality.
