Conceição on his controversial statements: I did not say that the Saudi player is “bad”

(CNN) - Portuguese coach Sergio Conceicao clarified his statements regarding Saudi players, which sparked widespread controversy on social media platforms in recent days, stressing that he was explaining the difference between football in Europe and in the Kingdom only.

Conceicao, who trained the Saudi Jeddah Federation, said through the “Story” feature on his Instagram page that he answered two questions about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in that interview, and pointed out that his words “were unfortunately misinterpreted,” according to what he said.

The Portuguese coach and former international player continued: “I would like to make clear that I never meant to show a lack of respect towards the Saudi player and Saudi Arabia as a country, this country that received me and his family and for which I have all the appreciation and respect, as I said in the interview.”

Conceição added, "I never doubted the quality of the Saudi player, and I never said that the Saudi player was 'bad'. My intention was to highlight the differences in the football experience and the approach to being a player in Saudi Arabia and in Europe."

The Portuguese coach continued by saying: “There are big differences, and I explained how difficult it was to adapt to some aspects of this experience in light of my understanding of the position of football coach. At the same time, this was an important experience that gave me the opportunity to learn and develop a different perspective in addition to the way I understand football players and their view of the game. Thank you very much.”

Conceição had sparked controversy during an interview he conducted with the “La Triplita” podcast of the Italian newspaper “Gazzetta dello Sport”, in which he criticized the Saudi player’s discipline.

The Portuguese coach took over the training of the Saudi Jeddah Club between 2025 and 2026 for several months.