Saudi players ignore minute silence for London victims

CAIRO – 10 June 2017: Saudi Arabian players chose to ignore a moment of silence before their game against their Australian hosts Thursday, drawing severe criticism.

Australia hosted Saudi Arabia June 8 in the Asian qualifications for 2018 World Cup. Both teams hold key positions in the tournament, but it wasn’t the match that everyone was talking about.

In the wake of June 3’s deadly terrorist attack in London, the Australian Football Federation and the audience stood for a moment of silence before the game began. The Saudi Arabian players, however, ignored the moment of silence and began taking position on the field and warming up.

Many considered their actions disrespectful.

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation apologized for the team’s behavior, saying, “The Saudi Arabian Football Federation deeply regrets and unreservedly apologizes for any offence caused by the failure of some members of the representative team of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to formally observe the one minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the London terrorist attack on June 3, 2017, prior to the World Cup qualifying match against Australia,” according the Daily Telegraph repored.


Saudi Arabia performed well in the match, despite losing 3-2, but their performance was overshadowed by their actions during the moment of silence.