Athletes criticized the societal roles of some of the stars of the Arab Gulf Football League in the category of millionaires during the current “Corona” crisis, and their lack of initiative to offer something similar to what many of the stars of the witch rounded around the world demonstrated by launching individual and group initiatives, considering that the players abandoned everyone In that crisis, assuring «Emirates Today» that “the absence of a societal role for the players in the Corona crisis showed the fragility of their positions.” These stars also went into hiding in the initiative to reduce their salaries to help their clubs overcome their financial obstacles.
For his part, sports analyst Dr. Ahmed Al-Awadi said: “Before the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, we used to think that we have stars who interact with difficult situations, and that they have societal contributions and roles in this current circumstance.”
He added: «For me there is no longer a name in the league that we can call a star, they are just amusements, they take our free time by watching the games.
He continued: «The real stars are the white army that stands in the front rows to deal with the Corona virus, the real stars are the members of the army and police who are racing to serve members of society and provide a safe life for us.
He continued, "I regret to say that all the ideals that the league players were claiming fell by the appearance of (Corona), and we did not hear that any of them had had contributions to the initiatives. I would have liked them at least to have participated in the sterilization process for cities, for example."
He added: “Their positions remained absent despite the recommendation of the Football Association to reduce the salaries of players by 40%, which was the decision taken by most clubs in the world and on the initiative of its players, and not by the decision of federations or leagues. It does not concern them, it only matters to them their personal interest. ”
For his part, the former international player, Khaled Ismail, stressed that the societal culture is absent from the Gulf League players, especially the stars, despite their large media and mass base that helps them to be in the front lines in such matters.
Ismail said: “Clubs should have played a role in increasing the culture of players in such societal initiatives launched by the state throughout the year, and also educating them on how to deal with the media, especially with the proliferation of social media sites and many rumors about players and their clubs with progress Modern technology, I regret to say that most players do not know how to stand in front of (the microphone), or talk to the press, and this is the responsibility of players and clubs alike.
He continued: «If I was responsible in a club now, I decided to reduce 50% of the players’ salaries, as long as they did not initiate on their own a step like this, then our clubs are not richer than the largest European clubs that reduced 50 and 70% of the players ’salaries during the crisis.
And he added: "Football players are not on their (head with a feather) to be excluded from reducing their salaries, especially since they are receiving millions of dirhams annually, and currently they are sitting in their homes without training or competitions, and their salaries reach their accounts without any trouble."
The former Al-Wahda Club board member, Dr. Jamal Al-Hosani, explained that the roles of the social and humanitarian league players need to appear on the scene now and more than ever.
He said: «Since the outbreak of Corona virus in different parts of the world, the league players have not appeared in awareness and solidarity campaigns to help people overcome this difficult test in the history of mankind, in contrast to the individual initiatives of football stars around the world who have raced to support those with (Coved 19), led by Messi and Ronaldo.
Al-Hosani added: “The current circumstances in which clubs live due to the lack of activity and stopping their financial entry points require players to play their roles courageously and without administrative decisions that compel them to take such a step, stressing that the Football Association played its full role in supporting the clubs in light of the current crisis, despite The biggest role should have been on the players and, as they did in the European leagues, they had the initiative to reduce their salaries. ”