Ivorian Yaya Toure, assistant to Italian Roberto Mancini, coach of the Saudi national football team, hinted at the continuation of the technical staff in his position, after exclusion from the 2023 Asian Nations Cup.
The Saudi Greens were eliminated early from the Asian Cup finals by their South Korean counterpart on penalty kicks (2-4) after they tied in the match that brought them together last Tuesday, in the eighth-final round of the competition.
Mancini was subjected to harsh criticism after the exclusion, whether at the technical level due to his retreat in defense, which allowed the Korean team to return in the match, or his controversial moment of leaving the field before the opponent’s decisive kick.
Speculation arose about Mancini's fate with Al-Akhdar, especially after statements by Yasser Al-Mashal, President of the Saudi Football Association, in which the coach's fate was not decided.
Yaya Toure published a picture of Al-Akhdar through his account on the “X” social media platform today, Thursday, accompanied by a “blog” in which he hinted at the possibility of the technical staff continuing in his position.
“In life, we learn from difficult moments,” Toure wrote
The end result is painful, but it will only increase our determination to succeed in what comes next.
The former Cote d'Ivoire captain added: “Thank you to the fans across the country for your energy and support
“The players, coaches and staff will do their best to achieve success.”
The Latvian Parliament adopts a law prohibiting its athletes from competing against the Russians
The Latvian Parliament adopted amendments to the Sports Law prohibiting national teams from facing teams from Russia and Belarus, even if their participation is under a neutral flag.
The law also prohibits the organization of tournaments in team sports for youth, junior and senior age groups in Latvia, in which Russian and Belarusian teams can compete, whether under the flags of their countries or in a neutral position.
The amendments were adopted with the aim of "emphasizing Latvia's solidarity with Ukraine" and avoiding technical defeats against Russian and Belarusian national teams.
Earlier, members of the Latvian House of Representatives Committee on Education, Culture and Science, which developed the amendments, stated that without these legislative changes, Latvian teams, which find themselves in the same group with the Russians or Belarusians and refuse to play with them, will receive a technical penalty “defeat and fine.” ".
“International sports organizations will have to respect Latvian legislation,” said the head of the sports subcommittee, Davis Martins Daugavetis.
Daugavetis believes that the Russian and Belarusian national teams "can no longer qualify for the Olympic Games."
At the same time, the approved amendments do not address the participation of Latvian athletes in the Olympic Games or not, as it is a matter for the Latvian Olympic Committee.