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In the past few hours, social media platforms in Saudi Arabia have been on fire after news confirmed that Saudi Arabia captain Salem Al-Dosari has refused to retire from international football and will continue his commitment to Al-Akhdar in the upcoming competitions, especially the Gulf Cup and Asian Cup.
Al-Dossari’s decision came as fans were still angry after Saudi Arabia’s disappointing exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage, where they picked up just two points from three games to finish bottom of their group at the tournament.
Hashtag demanding his departure
Saudi Arabia fans launched the hashtag “Salem Al-Dosari’s retirement” on the X platform, which topped the trending list amid widespread calls for Al-Akhdari to end his international career and make way for a new generation to lead the national team at the next stage.
Many fans felt that Al-Dosari’s continuation would not serve the national team’s rebuilding project, especially after the performance he put in during the World Cup, which some described as the level of a national team leader aspiring to compete on the international stage.
Sharp criticism of the World Cup
The comments saw a furious attack on the Al Hilal star as one fan wrote: “You should retire after your shocking World Cup appearance,” while another said. “You are a weak leader and do not know the extent of your responsibility.”
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Criticism did not stop there, as some fans described him as a “failure”, given that he did not provide the expected reinforcement on the pitch and was unable to lead the team out of the crisis experienced during the tournament.
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On the other hand, another group of fans defended Al-Dosari, stressing that it is unfair to blame one player for his failure and what happened at the World Cup was the result of accumulated technical and administrative errors that started long before the tournament started.
Salem Al-Dosari’s case looks set to remain one of the most controversial in Saudi football for some time to come, given the player’s commitment to continuing his international career in the face of ongoing public pressure to retire from the national team.
