Saudi Coach: "Only 1 Win... Not the Time to Gain Anything"
Lost 0-2 to Poland in Group Stage Round 2... Final Match Against Mexico
Saudi Arabia national football team coach Herve Renard (left) and forward Saleh Al-Shehri hold a press conference on the 25th (local time). Photo by AFP Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] The rumor that Saudi Arabia's national football team players, who secured a victory against football powerhouse Argentina, would each receive a Rolls-Royce car as a reward has been revealed to be 'fake news.'
On the 25th (local time), according to foreign media such as the US CBS and the UK The Sun, during a press conference held in Doha, Qatar, coach Herv? Renard and forward Saleh Al-Shehri officially denied the Rolls-Royce gift rumor. At the press conference, a reporter directly asked Al-Shehri, saying they learned about the Rolls-Royce reward through reports, "What color car did you choose?" In response, Al-Shehri said, "We came here to serve our country, and that alone is the greatest achievement," indirectly indicating that they did not receive a Rolls-Royce reward.
Furthermore, coach Renard firmly dismissed the rumor. He stated, "None of our players have ever received gifts from the royal family," and added, "The rumor is not true." Renard also emphasized once again, "Our football association and sports authorities are very serious. We have only just won one match, and two very important games remain," and "Now is not the time to receive anything."
Earlier, on the 22nd, when Saudi Arabia caused an upset by defeating strong favorite Argentina 2-1 in the first match of Group C in the group stage, reports emerged in China and Malaysia that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia would gift each national team player a Rolls-Royce car. These media outlets even specified the model as the RM6 million Rolls-Royce Phantom, with the price of each vehicle reaching approximately 1.3 billion Korean won. Considering the entire team, the reward scale would amount to 1 billion USD (about 1.3 trillion Korean won), leaving netizens amazed at the 'generous' scale of the Saudi royal family.
However, from the time of the reports, there was no official announcement from the Saudi royal family regarding the Rolls-Royce reward, and since these rumors spread mainly through China, Malaysia, India, and social networking services (SNS) rather than Saudi Arabia or neighboring countries, many were skeptical from the start. Nevertheless, after King Salman of Saudi Arabia declared the day following the match, the 23rd, a temporary public holiday to celebrate the victory, and photos of Crown Prince bin Salman embracing his family joyfully were released, public opinion also formed that the Rolls-Royce gift could be quite possible.
Saudi Arabia lost 0-2 to Poland in the second match of Group C on the 26th at 10 PM and is scheduled to play the final match against Mexico at 4 AM on the 1st of next month.
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