Is Saudi Football Heading for Hooliganism?
Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal fans came to blows after the Riyadh Derby this week. Fan tensions in Saudi Arabia have been bubbling up for a while. This is why.
On 12 May 2026, in the corporate boxes of Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, men in thobes swung wooden sticks at one another and hurled bottles across the rows of leather seating.
The match was the Riyadh Derby between Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal.
Al Nassr had been one goalkeeping error away from sealing their first Saudi Pro League title in seven years. They were denied in the 98th minute, when their own keeper Bento collided with Iñigo Martínez and shovelled the ball into his own net. The final whistle blew at 1-1.
The fight in the boxes had, by most accounts, started before the equaliser and intensified afterwards.
The response from authorities seemed muted. The Riyadh Region Police and the Ministry of Sport issued a joint statement, confirming that several people had been arrested after the brawl.
The main story being broadcast on Saudi social media is that an Al Nassr supporter in one of the VIP boxes tried to wrench an Al Hilal flag out of a rival’s hands. The collapse of Al Nassr’s title celebration in stoppage time only fueled matters further.
