Saudi Arabia fans demand Georgios Donis stays after Roberto Martinez reports

Saudi Arabia supporters have reacted angrily to reports that Roberto Martinez has agreed to take charge of the national team for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, only hours after Georgios Donis guided them to Gulf Cup 27 success.

Saudi Arabia won the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup on Tuesday, beating United Arab Emirates 2-0 in the final at Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah.

Reports that the Saudi Arabian Football Federation had reached an agreement with Martinez emerged about 24 hours after that victory. The prospect of replacing Donis has caused widespread opposition among supporters, who want the Greek manager to remain in charge following his success with the national team.

Fans also questioned the reported appointment of Martinez, arguing that he had failed in each of his previous roles, including his most recent spell with Portugal, where he worked with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Saudi sports broadcaster Waleed Al-Farraj was among the first prominent voices to oppose the proposed change. The presenter of Rotana Sport with Waleed on Rotana Khalijiah said Donis was the right manager for Saudi Arabia at this stage.

“Donis succeeded because he is the coach suited to the abilities of the players,” Al-Farraj wrote on X.

“Any attempt to return to the national team’s obsession with appointing a world-renowned coach and to change the technical staff three months before the Asian Cup would suggest that the Gulf Cup success was merely a coincidence.

“Spare us the inventions. Continue as you are.”

Former Saudi journalist Nasser Al-Jedai also argued that Donis was a better fit than more famous managers.

“As a coach, Donis is not as renowned as Roberto Mancini, nor does he have the abilities of Pep Guardiola or the guile of Jurgen Klopp,” he wrote. “But, at least for now, he is more suitable than all of them to lead the Saudi national team in the next phase.

“So what about replacing him with someone far below them? If the talk of changing him is correct, it means we have not learned from previous lessons and that the decision-maker is still looking for the ‘most famous’ and ‘smartest-looking’ coach rather than the ‘most suitable’ one.”

Ahmed Al-Sheikhi described the reports as “chaos”, saying the Asian Cup was only three months away and that news of Donis potentially being dismissed had been deeply disappointing.

“A coach who knows the players inside out, and the replacement is Martinez?” he wrote. “If this happens, it will remind me of Calderon’s dismissal when we reached the 2006 World Cup without losing.”

Another Saudi supporter, Mohammed, referred to the national team’s 23 years of failure and the money spent on high-profile managers.

“Millions were paid to world-renowned coaches 90 and 50m euros and the result was nothing, along with mockery and ridicule directed at our players and our level,” he wrote.

“Then Donis arrived, won the tournament with the resources available, took the best team and collected its awards, remained unbeaten and conceded no goals.

“Despite that, you agreed with a world-class coach who failed with teams full of stars.”