Bondarenko's Omission Sparks Controversy for Pusic Ahead of Al-Hazm Clash

Artem Bondarenko has become the flashpoint in a growing storm around Al-Ahli coach Marino Pusic.

Hours before Al-Ahli host Al-Hazm at Alinma Stadium in Jeddah on Friday in the seventh round of the Saudi Roshn League, the Ukrainian midfielder has been dropped from the matchday squad yet again – and this time the backlash is squarely aimed at the man who signed him.

Saudi journalist Waleed Saeed revealed on X that Pusic has excluded Bondarenko from the group to face Al-Hazm, along with Brazilian winger Matheus Goncalves. For Bondarenko, it is a now familiar blow. This is the third time he has been left out of a league squad since his summer move from Shakhtar Donetsk.

The numbers are stark. Since arriving as one of the more talked-about additions to “Al-Raqi,” the 26-year-old has played only twice in the league: the 3-1 defeat to Al-Khaleej in the fourth round and the 5-0 rout of Al-Riyadh in the fifth. That is the extent of his involvement.

Everywhere else, he has watched from afar.

He was not in the squad for the 3-0 loss to Al-Hilal in the third round. He was absent again for the 3-2 defeat to Al-Qadsiah in the sixth. Now his omission has been extended into the Al-Hazm fixture, at a time when Al-Ahli need stability and clarity, not more noise.

The decision cuts especially deep because this is Pusic’s player. The Dutch coach pushed hard for Bondarenko’s signing, leaning on their shared spell at Shakhtar between 2023 and 2025. That personal backing now sits uneasily against the reality: a high-profile recruit, barely used, and increasingly unwelcome in the stands.

Al-Ahli fans never warmed to the idea. Even before the deal was completed, large sections of the support voiced their opposition to bringing the Ukrainian in. When he did finally step onto the pitch, the reaction was brutal. Bondarenko was jeered during the emphatic 5-0 win over Al-Riyadh, a night that should have offered him a soft landing. Instead, it pushed him further to the margins.

He has not featured since.

For Pusic, every team sheet without Bondarenko now feels like an admission that the gamble has backfired. The coach is caught between his conviction in a player he knows well and a fanbase that has already passed judgment.

Al-Ahli’s meeting with Al-Hazm is officially about three points in round seven of the Roshn League. Unofficially, it asks a sharper question: how long can a coach stand by a signing the crowd refuses to accept?