“The departure of the coach is completely unacceptable and we will discuss with him to understand why he did this,” declared Yasser Al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Federation, speaking to SSC, the broadcaster of the competition in Saudi Arabia. Arabia.

“I thought it was over,” justified the 59-year-old technician after the match, while his team lost against South Korea (1-1 ap, 4 tab to 2). Mancini, European champion with Italy in 2021, took office last August and is under contract until 2027.

According to press reports, he accepted an annual salary offer of 25 million dollars (23 million euros) to lead the Saudi team, which finished in last place in its group at the 2022 World Cup after beating Argentina, world champion. “He has the right to explain his point of view, and we will decide what action to take,” explains Yasser Al-Misehal, adding: “technically, we are satisfied with the performance achieved during the Asian Cup.”