Ivan Toney says Al-Ahli fans’ Bondarenko jeers ‘make no sense’

Ivan Toney has criticised Al-Ahli supporters for booing team-mate Artem Bondarenko during their 5-0 victory over Al-Riyadh in the Saudi Pro League.

The England striker said the Ukrainian midfielder had done nothing to deserve the reaction and urged the club’s supporters to stand behind him.

Al-Ahli led 3-0 at half-time before completing a decisive win at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium on Friday evening. However, the atmosphere was overshadowed by repeated jeers directed at Bondarenko, who joined the club from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Speaking after the match, in comments reported by Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, Toney said: “We were 3-0 up at the end of the first half, and it is important for the fans to be with us.

“I felt the fans were booing one particular player, and I do not understand that. The player has done nothing wrong. He is here and he is part of the family. It is important that we all stay united and support each other.”

Toney said the hostile reaction could make it harder for Bondarenko to perform, particularly because the 20-year-old is adapting to a new country and facing significant pressure.

“You cannot boo a player and then expect him to perform well,” he added. “I do not understand that. He is in a different country, he is still young and there is a lot of pressure on him.

“We stand by him, we are together, and that is what a family does.”

The comments followed a sustained campaign by sections of the Al-Ahli fanbase against the club signing Bondarenko. Supporters had argued that the team needed a better midfielder, but Al-Ahli proceeded with the deal despite the opposition.

The transfer subsequently caused anger among fans, with much of the criticism aimed at the club’s former Portuguese sporting director Rui Pedro Braz. He left his position on Thursday, the day before Al-Ahli’s victory over Al-Riyadh.

Bondarenko’s reception remained negative from the beginning of Friday’s match until the final whistle, prompting Toney to make a public appeal for greater unity around the player.

Al-Ahli’s five-goal victory moved the team through the fifth round of the Saudi Pro League, but the discussion around Bondarenko’s treatment remained the main talking point after the match. Toney’s intervention was a clear indication that the squad believes the midfielder needs support as he adjusts to life at the club and in Saudi Arabia.