SAUDI PRO LEAGUE
Why Fabinho’s move to Saudi Arabia has been delayed
Al-Ittihad’s president was in Liverpool to close the deal for the Brazilian player before the move was delayed.
Fabinho’s move to Saudi Arabia has been delayed for rather unusual reasons. Certain breeds of dogs are banned in the country, which is currently holding up several negotiations with European-based players.
Agreement with Al-Ittihad
The Liverpool player had reached an agreement with Al-Ittihad, where Karim Benzema plies his trade. As Fabrizio Romano has reported, the club’s president was in Liverpool to close the deal for the Brazilian when problems over the breed of his dogs slowed down the signing.
Fabinho has a pair of French bulldogs as pets and according to the country’s regulations these dogs are considered “aggressive and dangerous”, and for this reason, they are denied entry into Saudi Arabia.
It remains unknown what the impact of this law will be on future movements to the country, but if the regulation does not change, dogs with the “potentially dangerous” label will not be allowed to enter.
Al-Ittihad working on deal
Al-Ittihad are working to ensure that this is not a problem and have requested a special permit from the Saudi government to allow the entry of these pets.
Keeping his dogs in Bahrain - one of the countries bordering Saudi Arabia - is reportedly being considered for Fabinho, meaning the Brazilian would be over 1,400 kilometers away from his pets, with Al-Ittihad based in Jeddah.
In order to prevent Fabinho from losing out on spending time with his dogs, the fans of the Saudi Pro League club have started a campaign on social media called: “Let Fabinho’s dogs in”.