The Saudi Arabia-Tahiti match in the 2025 Gold Cup sparked a major controversy on social media over the ball!
Users shared a report that the Saudi flag, which contains the word “Allah,” was placed on the match ball. This implies “kicking the word of Allah,” which contradicts the sanctity of this term in Islam.
Many fans even called on the Saudi team to withdraw from the competition, claiming that the Saudi flag would be placed on the ball in all matches, and consequently, kicking the word of Allah with the foot is completely unacceptable.
There has been no official response to the matter so far, but many have defended the incident. One wrote that the ball shown was only for pre-match photography, while the tournament ball does not contain any flags from any of the competing teams.
The Saudi team won 1-0 against Tahiti in its first-ever Gold Cup appearance.
The Green Falcons will meet the host nation, the United States, in the second round, before concluding the group stage with a match against Trinidad and Tobago.
