A Kuwaiti Football Federation board member Abdulaziz Al-Samhan announced the return of his stolen “wallet” during the opening ceremony of the 25th Gulf Cup in Basra, Iraq.
Al-Samhan said in a video clip published by the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Majlis that he had “recovered his stolen wallet”, praising the efforts of the Iraqi security forces in this regard.
Video / A member of the Football Association, Abdulaziz Al-Samhan, announces the return of the stolen ‘Book’. pic.twitter.com/LPTyvl3MFd
– Council (@Almajlliss) January 8, 2023
In statements on Saturday, Al-Samhan criticized the poor organization that accompanied the opening ceremony of the 25th Gulf Cup, and a board member of the Kuwait Football Federation told ‘Your Newspaper’: ‘They cut the pocket of my dishdashti (jilbab ) with a razor (a sharp tool)”, and remained “Buki” (they stole my wallet).
Kuwait Football Federation board member Abdulaziz Al-Samhan to ‘Your Newspaper’: They snatched my dishdashti pocket with a rat and left ‘Buki’#Kuwaiti_delegation#Gulf Cup #Gulf_25 pic.twitter.com/L4Ci4h3oAf
Your newspaper (@ImeGrop) January 6, 2023
He expressed his astonishment at the “stamping, crowding and thefts” despite the deployment of Iraqi police forces.
On Friday, the Kuwait Football Federation complained of what it called “bad organisation” at the opening ceremony of the 25th Gulf Cup, after a row erupted over a VIP area stampede.
The Kuwait Football Federation expresses its strong dissatisfaction with the poor organization of the opening ceremony of the 25th Gulf Cup in the city of Basra, and the resulting mass flight and overcrowding which prevented the entry of the representative of His Highness the Emir of the Country, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, may God protect and preserve it.#Gulf25 #our_blue_ is_our_blue pic.twitter.com/9uKTbSugKq
—KuwaitFA (@KuwaitFA) January 6, 2023
The federation confirmed that Fahd Nasser Al-Sabah, head of the Kuwaiti Olympic Committee and representative of the Kuwaiti prince who came to participate in the tournament, withdrew with his delegation in tow.
The Kuwait Football Federation “expressed its strong dissatisfaction with the poor organization of the opening ceremony of the 25th Gulf Cup in Basra, and the resulting crush and overcrowding which prevented the entry of the representative of His Highness the Emir of the Village”.
For its part, the Iraqi Football Federation expressed its deep regret that some organizational issues during the Gulf 25 opening ceremony were out of the right framework, which led to circumstances due to which the representative of the Emir of the State of Kuwait left the Basra International Stadium on Friday.
The federation’s statement on Saturday said it “extended an apology to the Kuwaiti delegation for the difficulties encountered in entering Palm Trunk Stadium, and the subsequent departure of the representative of the Emir of the State of Kuwait, Chairman of the Federation Olympic Committee, Sheikh Fahd Al-Nasser, as well as the President of the Kuwaiti Federation and the members of the board of directors.
