A minute’s silence for German football legend Franz Beckenbauer was booed by fans in Saudi Arabia ahead of the Spanish Supercup semi-final.
The derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid was played at the Al-Awwal Stadium in Riyadh on Wednesday night, with Real winning 5-3.
Before kick-off, the two teams lined up around the centre circle to honour Beckenbauer, who died earlier this week at the age of 78.
But the supposed silence was met with jeers and whistles from the crowd, with a music soundtrack also played through the PA system.
The players were left bemused at the apparent lack of respect, as were fans watching from afar who made their displeasure known on social media.
Fans in Saudi Arabia jeered and whistled during a minute’s silence for German football legend Franz Beckenbauer ahead of Wednesday night’s Spanish Super Cup match
The players of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid lined up to pay respects ahead of the contest
However, the tribute to Beckenbauer was marred when the Saudi crowd whistled
Many made the point this wouldn’t have happened had the match been staged in Spain.
However, apparently the whistles were nothing to do with Beckenbauer but actually a cultural custom in Saudi Arabia.
Spanish outlet Cadena SER quoted a local journalist, who said: ‘It has nothing to do with Beckenbauer, but with a more cultural issue.
‘It is a custom or tradition in Saudi Arabia. It is frowned upon to have a minute of silence here.’
The journalists said it was far from the first time such a thing had happened at the stadium, which is the home ground of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
That didn’t stop a flood of negative online comments, with one tweet reading: ‘Disrespectful. LaLiga sold their dignity for money. Why not play in Spain?’
Another said: ‘Disrespectful but this is what you get for trying to squeeze every little bit of money you can. Just being the Super Cup back to Spain and stop this nonsense. The Saudi experiment has failed miserably.’
The Supercup expanded to a four-team format when it moved to Saudi Arabia in the 2019-20 season.
Some Atletico players were seen looking on in bemusement as the crowd whistled
Fans on social media weren’t impressed at the disrespect shown by the Saudi crowd
Franz Beckenbauer, one of the greatest footballers ever, passed away on Sunday aged 78
The Germany icon is one of three men to have won the World Cup as both player and manager
Beckenbauer won the World Cup for West Germany as both a player, in 1974, and a manager in 1990 (pictured with Bobby Moore in 1985)
It was staged in Jeddah that year before returning to Spain in 2020-21 during the Covid-19 pandemic. The competition has been staged in Riyadh for the past three seasons.
This year’s semi-finals see Copa del Rey winners Real Madrid take on third-placed LaLiga side from last season Atletico.
The LaLiga champions Barcelona take on Copa del Rey runners-up Osasuna on Thursday.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side won a ding-dong contest 5-3 after extra time, having twice fallen behind. Joselu and Brahim Diaz scored late in the additional 30-minutes period to settle it in front of 25,000 spectators.
Tributes from across the world of football flooded in after Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup with West Germany as both player and manager, died on Sunday.
Beckenbauer’s health has gradually declined ever since his son Stephan died in 2015. Since then the iconic former player and manager had battled Parkinson’s disease, dementia, as well as undergoing heart operations.
He leaves behind his wife Heidi and his four other children.
Brahim Diaz (centre) sealed victory for Real Madrid with the final kick of the game
Joselu forced Stefan Savic to put into his own net with just four minutes remaining
