Roberto Mancini left the pitch before the penalties in Saudi Arabia-South Korea in the Asian Cup had even finished. The coach apologised, but despite this he was deeply criticized by the president of the Saudi federation: “What he did was unacceptable”
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L’Saudi Arabia Of Roberto Mancini was eliminated in the round of 16 of the Asian Cup. The knockout was scorching, not only because it came to penalties. There South Korea, driven by Jurgen Klinsmann, he found the equalizer in the 99th minute, thanks to a pass from the goalkeeper. Mancini ended up in the storm, not only because of the result on the pitch but because he left the bench before the match even finished, and for this he was forced to apologize publicly.
Saudi Arabia-South Korea was one eighth of luxury. Two teams with ambitions of immediate success against each other in the knockout phase. The Saudis took the lead at the start of the second half with a goal from Abdullah Radif and maintained the lead for a long time, when they were one step away from winning the match, they suffered a goal from Gue-Sung Cho, Midtiylland striker who takes advantage of an assist and above all a sensational duck by goalkeeper Al Kassar, 1-1 and extra time. Then the penalties. The Koreans are perfect: four shots and four goals. Saudi Arabia’s players score the first two, then the following ones miss.
Mancini would have already been criticized for his elimination, but almost more than for his exit from the tournament he was subjected to criticism, even furious, because he left the field after the second error of one of his players from the penalty spot. Something unusual. The cameras immortalize him as he leaves the field and returns to the locker room.
Mancini takes Saudi Arabia to the round of 16 of the Asian Cup but the case breaks out: “He wants to leave”
The former national team coach very quickly ends up in the sights of Saudi fans who let off steam on social media and tell him anything. So when he shows up at the press conference, Mancini, who still leaves the event undefeated, is forced to officially apologize, saying: “I thought the game was over, I apologize for leaving the field before the end.”
Then he praised his team: “I want to thank my players for what they did in this event, they have grown a lot. I am happy and very sad at the same time. Happy because we improved a lot, we worked together for a month and this is very important. We are a team now. Clearly we still have to grow.”
The apologies of the former Sampdoria and Lazio player, however, were not enough to calm the anger of the president of the Saudi federation Yasser Al Meshal: “Mancini’s early exit from the pitch is unacceptable. In any case he spoke to the players in the locker room thanking them for what they did in this Asian Cup.”. The bench is not at risk, but certainly now Mancini can no longer make mistakes, two Qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup are scheduled for the month of March.