A member of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Football Association, Abdulaziz Al-Samhan, announced the return of his “wallet” that was stolen during the opening ceremony of the 25th Gulf Cup in Basra, Iraq.
Al-Samhan said in a video clip published by the Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Majlis, that he “recovered his stolen wallet,” praising the efforts of the Iraqi security forces in this regard.
Video / A member of the Football Association, Abdulaziz Al-Samhan, announces the return of the stolen “Book”. pic.twitter.com/LPTyvl3MFd
– Council (@Almajlliss) January 8, 2023
In Saturday’s statements, Al-Samhan criticized the poor organization accompanying the opening ceremony of the 25th Gulf Cup, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Football Association told “Your Newspaper”, “They slit the pocket of my dishdashti (jilbab) with a razor (a sharp instrument)”, and they remained “Buki” (they stole my wallet).
Abdulaziz Al-Samhan, a member of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Football Association, to “Your Newspaper”: They ripped my dishdashti pocket with a mouse and left “Buki”#Kuwaiti_delegation#Gulf Cup #Gulf_25 pic.twitter.com/L4Ci4h3oAf
Your newspaper (@ImeGrop) January 6, 2023
He expressed his astonishment at the “stampede, crowding and thefts” despite the deployment of Iraqi police forces.
On Friday, the Kuwait Football Association complained regarding what it described as “poor organization” at the opening ceremony of the 25th Gulf Cup, following a controversy arose over a stampede in the VIP area.
The Kuwait Football Association expresses its strong dissatisfaction with the poor organization of the opening ceremony of the 25th Gulf Cup in the city of Basra, and the resulting mass stampede and overcrowding that prevented the entry of the representative of His Highness the Emir of the country, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, may God protect and preserve him.#Gulf25 #Our _ blue _ is _ our _ blue pic.twitter.com/9uKTbSugKq
— KuwaitFA (@KuwaitFA) January 6, 2023
The federation confirmed that Fahd Nasser Al-Sabah, head of the Kuwaiti Olympic Committee and representative of the Kuwaiti prince who came to attend the tournament, withdrew with his accompanying delegation.
The Kuwait Football Association “expressed its strong dissatisfaction with the poor organization of the opening ceremony of the 25th Gulf Cup in Basra, and the resulting crowd crush and overcrowding that prevented the entry of the representative of His Highness the Emir of the country.”
For its part, the Iraqi Football Association expressed its deep regret that some organizational matters at the opening ceremony of the Gulf 25 were out of the correct framework, which led to circumstances due to which the representative of the Emir of the State of Kuwait left the Basra International Stadium on Friday.
The federation’s statement, on Saturday, stated that it “extends an apology to the Kuwaiti delegation for the difficulties it encountered in entering the Palm Trunk Stadium, and the resulting departure of the representative of the Emir of the State of Kuwait, Chairman of the Olympic Committee, Sheikh Fahd Al-Nasser, as well as the President of the Kuwaiti Federation and members of the Board of Directors.”
