Inzaghi Faces Backlash Over Al-Bulaihi Exclusion at Al-Hilal

Simone Inzaghi walked into his pre‑match press conference expecting to talk about Al-Hilal’s Roshn League opener against Al-Faisaly. He walked out at the centre of a storm over Ali Al-Bulaihi.

The Italian coach admitted he had kept the veteran defender out of group training in the build-up to Friday’s game, explaining that he wanted to “watch the young players.” On paper, it sounded like a routine squad-management decision. On Saudi television, it landed like a provocation.

Abdulghani tears into Inzaghi

Former Saudi national team star Hussein Abdulghani did not hold back on the “Nadina” programme, branding Inzaghi’s explanation “strange and surprising.”

“Inzaghi’s words are strange and surprising to me,” he said. “He says that Ali Al-Bulaihi has grown older and that he wants to give the youngsters a chance, and that is illogical given the squad he has.”

Then came the sting. Abdulghani turned to the names that define the league’s new era.

“Is Benzema 20 years old, or Koulibaly 21?” he asked sarcastically, using the examples to underline what he sees as a contradiction in the coach’s logic. For him, the age argument does not stand up in a competition packed with high-profile veterans.

The former defender accused Inzaghi of dressing up a straightforward exclusion as a developmental decision.

“The coach says anything to justify excluding Al-Bulaihi,” Abdulghani continued, “but I see that the handling of the player is not professional.”

A wider criticism of club behaviour

Abdulghani’s frustration did not stop at the coach. He turned his fire on Al-Hilal’s hierarchy and, more broadly, on how Saudi clubs move on from players who have served them for years.

“Al-Bulaihi gave a lot to Al-Hilal,” he said. “The management should have satisfied him and sold him in a normal way, instead of dealing with him in this strange manner.”

For Abdulghani, this is not just one mishandled case. It is a pattern.

“Saudi clubs deal with the players they do not want in such an unprofessional way,” he concluded.

On the eve of a new Roshn League season, Al-Hilal’s focus should be on Al-Faisaly and three points. Instead, Inzaghi finds himself under fire over how he has treated one of the club’s most combative figures — and over what that says about the new era he is trying to build.