Lakhdar Belloumi defends Hull City after comments on son Bachir

Lakhdar Belloumi has rejected suggestions that he was criticising Hull City after saying his son Bachir was capable of playing for one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

The Algeria great was in Tizi Ouzou to watch Bachir make his first start for the national team in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Zambia. The 24-year-old played 70 minutes on the right wing and produced an encouraging display, although he did not register a goal or assist.

The match was particularly significant for Belloumi, the 1981 African Ballon d’Or winner, after Brahim Hemdani handed his son a starting place for the first time with the Fennecs.

Asked about the beginning of Hemdani’s tenure, Belloumi urged patience.

“This is the first match. We cannot change either the team or the coach straight away. Slowly, inchallah, we will get there,” he said.

He then joked about his son’s performance before stressing that Algeria’s collective success mattered more than one player’s progress.

“Bachir is here, he is present. The important thing is that he makes good passes like his father,” he said with a laugh.

“He will have a great future, inchallah. There are players like him, or perhaps better than him. The most important thing is the national team.”

Belloumi also used the occasion to address comments attributed to him in an interview with WinWin several days earlier. He had appeared to suggest that Bachir’s form warranted a move to a bigger club.

“With the level Bachir is displaying at the moment, he deserves to play for a more important team,” he was quoted as saying. “Teams that compete for domestic and continental titles, such as Barca, Real, PSG, OM or City.”

Those remarks were interpreted by some as an indication that Belloumi considered Hull City too small for his son. He strongly rejected that reading.

“There are people who make money on TikTok who put that out. They do it for money. I do not know what they are called; it is better to forget them,” he said.

He then offered an unequivocal defence of the Championship club.

“Hull City is a football school. Bachir is proof of that; he learned and grew there. How do you expect me to criticise them?”

Belloumi’s lofty ambitions for his son come after an excellent start to the season. Bachir has scored two goals and provided two assists in five Premier League matches, establishing himself as one of the promoted side’s key players.

That form earned him a return to the Algeria squad almost three years after his previous call-up, followed by his first starting appearance for the national team.

Belloumi believes his son can ultimately reach the highest level, but has also made clear that Hull City remains central to his development.