Bondarenko's Ongoing Exclusion Raises Questions for Pusic Ahead of Al-Hazm Clash
The Artem Bondarenko experiment is turning into a problem Al-Ahli and coach Marino Pusic can no longer ignore.
Hours before Al-Ahli host Al-Hazm at Alinma Stadium in Jeddah on Friday in the seventh round of the Saudi Roshn League, the Ukrainian midfielder has been dropped from the squad yet again. So has Brazilian winger Matheus Goncalves.
The news came via Saudi journalist Waleed Saeed on X, and it immediately lit up the debate around Pusic’s selection calls and his transfer choices.
This is not a one-off. It is the third time since his summer arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk that Bondarenko has been left out of a matchday squad altogether.
His involvement so far? Minimal, and under a harsh spotlight.
The 26-year-old has only appeared twice for “Al-Raqi”:
- The 1-3 defeat to Al-Khaleej in the fourth round
- The 5-0 demolition of Al-Riyadh in the fifth round
Everywhere else, he has been nowhere near the pitch. Pusic excluded him from the squad in the 0-3 loss to Al-Hilal in the third round, then again in the 2-3 defeat to Al-Qadsiah in the sixth. Now the coach has extended that absence into the Al-Hazm game.
Each omission sharpens the focus on one uncomfortable truth for Pusic: this was his signing.
The Dutch coach pushed for Bondarenko, leaning on their shared past at Shakhtar Donetsk between 2023 and 2025. That connection helped bring the midfielder to Jeddah. It has not helped him settle.
From the start, Al-Ahli fans made their stance clear. Many rejected the deal even before it was finalized. When Bondarenko did play, the atmosphere turned sour. During the big win over Al-Riyadh, sections of the crowd jeered him, a rare sight for a new arrival still trying to find his feet.
He has not featured since.
Now Pusic faces a double bind: a player he personally vouched for, frozen out; a fanbase that never fully embraced the signing, feeling vindicated; and a league campaign that offers little time for sentiment.
If results do not turn quickly, Bondarenko’s name will keep coming up — not on the team sheet, but in every question about Pusic’s judgment and Al-Ahli’s direction.
