31 January 2024 , 07:50
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Roberto Mancini has been forced to apologise after he was seen leaving Saudi Arabia 's defeat to South Korea in the Asian Cup early.
The Italian manager took charge of the Saudi national team in the summer after being handed a bumper four-year contract. But he was unable to take his side beyond the Last 16 stage of the tournament, which is being held in Qatar.
Mancini's side had gone ahead through Abdullah Radif's strike just a minute into the second-half. But in the ninth minute of stoppage time, Cho Gue-sung popped up to fire in an equaliser, with the game eventually going to a penalty shootout.
The shootout led to a moment of madness from Mancini, who left the pitch before the final spot-kick had been taken. Keeper Jo Hyeon-woo was the hero for South Korea, saving from Sami Al-Najei who stepped up first for Saudi.
Hyeon-woo also saved from Abdulrahman Ghareeb, with Mancini walking back to the dressing room after seeing the Al-Nassr star miss. But there was still one more penalty to go, with Hwang Hee-chan firing home to send South Korea into the quarter-finals.
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Mancini's actions left Saudi fans furious, with many rushing to social media to blast the Italian. One tweeted: "This is shockingly disrespectful." While another angry fan said: "So low and disrespectful."
A third added: “A cowardly coach who does not take responsibility and does not stand with his players. He started the tournament with a strange statement that affected the team and the fans and ended it with an ugly escape that only a coward can do!”
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Mancini walked down the tunnel before the final penalty of the shootout had been takenWhile a fourth concluded: “The match was handed to the Koreans from the 75th minute with the wrong changes. There is no need for his departure. The least he can do is to appreciate the players, and console them and encourage them.”
The president of Saudi Arabia's football association was also left unhappy, branding Mancini's actions "unacceptable". Yasser Al-Meshal said: “Mancini’s early departure is unacceptable, however, the coach met with the players and thanked them.”
The Saudi boss quickly moved to apologise for his actions in his post-match press conference. But he also insisted that the Green Falcons had made great progress, despite crashing out at the same stage they exited the tournament in 2019, when it was last played.
"I apologise [for leaving early], I thought it was finished. I didn't want to disrespect anyone," Mancini told a news conference. "I am very happy, I am very sad. I want to say thank you to all my players for what they did.
"I am very happy because we as a group, we improved a lot. We've worked for one month together [for the Asian Cup] and this is important. Now we are a team. It's clear we have to improve more."
While the Saudis will now head home to Riyadh after crashing out, Korea, led by Spurs star Son Heung-min will prepare for a quarter-final clash against Australia on Friday.