Athletes and fans criticized the holding of some games of the Arabian Gulf Football League, at 9:15 pm, pointing out that this late timing is useless, but will reduce the proportion of public attendance in the stands, and will cause exhaustion of people concerned to follow such games, whether they are fans Officials, players, technical and administrative staff and media, pointing to the importance of taking into account the safety of the public from traffic accidents, changing weather conditions in the event of fog, during the late timing of the matches, or the result of exhaustion that may cause the person to fall asleep while driving He pointed out that such timing will also have negative repercussions on the percentage of viewership of the UAE league, especially in the Gulf region, especially the Saudi public following the Arab Gulf League, demanding the League to reconsider. The timing of the games, while others stressed that the holding of games at a late time may be for a very limited period, and the aim of the experiment only, and the possibility of continuing if successful or changed in the case of a major opposition, while some suggested the possibility of holding games per round on three days , B For two days, so the league can hold all matches in a timely manner.
"The Football Association must facilitate the public in the process of attending the games, and the decision to hold them at a late date was not successful at all," they told Emirates Today.
Khaled Awad, a former member of the competitions committee of the Football Association, said that the League of Professionals is obliged to hold some league matches at this time, and has no other options in this regard, as it is linked to several things, including weather conditions and high humidity, as well as the issue of television transport The fact that the television channels transmitting the league controls the dates of the league, because it is also related to another issue, such as technical analysis of the league, as well as arbitration analysis of the games ». Khalid Awad said: «Why does not the League to try to hold matches of the league on three days instead of two days, so you can hold all these games in a convenient time for everyone?».
In turn, the former board member of Al Wasl Club, Hassan Taleb Al Marri, said that the aim of the decision to hold matches at a late time may be merely an experiment, and to know whether they can succeed or not, stressing that the Association has high flexibility, and can cancel its decision in this In particular, in case there was a great opposition to him, describing the Association that it has been working professionally during the recent period, and seeks to promote the UAE league in several ways and means.
Hassan Taleb Al Marri said: "We have seen from the League, in the recent period, a great qualitative leap in all things, in order to work to develop the UAE league."
Adnan Al-Janahi stressed that the decision to hold matches late at night will have negative repercussions, including reducing the percentage of public attendance in the stands and causing exhaustion of the audience and those concerned to attend these games, which are held late, as they will have to return. To their homes very late at night. Adnan al-Janahi said: "When determining the timing of these matches, we must take into account the safety of these fans and those involved in the games, especially with changing weather conditions, and the possibility of fog in the late hours of the night, while some fans return home."
Adnan al-Janahi stressed the need to make it easier for the public to be able to attend matches at appropriate times, describing the decision to hold matches in the late hours as «unjustified, unless the goal behind the choice of this time something else does not know fans».
Mohammed al-Kaabi questioned the feasibility of the league's decision to hold matches late, pointing out that during the last game Al-Wasl and Al-Ain, in the second round of the league, he had to go from his work place to the stadium directly, and return to his home late at night, saying that It causes a state of stress for a large number of fans.
He added: «There are fans who are keen to take their children to watch the games, and I am one of them, and held at a late time prohibits our children watching them».
Al Hosani: Match times will change with winter
The Executive Director of the Association of Professionals, Walid Ibrahim Al Hosani, defended the decision of the timing of the games of the Arabian Gulf League, whether after the Maghreb prayer or at the ninth and a quarter of nine, and confirmed that they sat after the end of last season with all parties concerned, whether clubs or the public to take their views and suggestions in With regard to the timing of the matches, and that the majority of the audience requested this timing through the sessions and meetings that took place with them. He added: «This decision is also linked to the weather conditions and high humidity, and the current time is a temporary summer time, came to take into account the weather conditions as well as the timing of prayer, and will change in the coming period with the advent of winter». Al-Hosani said: "The timing of the current matches came after studying all the proposals that were put forward, and we found through these proposals that the majority of the crowd ends after 4 pm, so the decision was made to hold matches after Maghrib prayer to facilitate the audience, and delayed matches due to weather factors."