Jamal Farhan is a Saudi Arabian retired footballer. Farhan competed in Saudi Arabia's professional league. He also represented Saudi Arabia internationally, including at the

1982 Asian Games The 9th Asian Games ( hi, 1982 एशियाई खेल) were held from 19 November to 4 December 1982, in Delhi, India. 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken at the event. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of ...

, where the team won the bronze medal. Farhan is best known, however, for receiving a life-time ban from international games by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

in 1983, after he assaulted referee

Alexis Ponnet Alexis Ponnet (born 9 March 1939 in Brussels) is a former Belgian football referee. Ponnet is best known for supervising two matches in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain and one in the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. He also refereed the Europe ...

during a match with Kuwait at the

World Military Cup The World Military Cup is a football competition for national military teams. It is organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). The tournament has been held since 1946 and was originally called the World Military Championship. ...

Career

Farhan was selected to represent Saudi Arabia internationally after playing in the country's professional league. He competed in four matches at the 1982

Arabian Gulf Cup The Arabian Gulf Cup ( ar, كأس الخليج العربي, ''Kass Al-Khaleej Al-Arabi''), often referred to simply as the Gulf Cup, is a biennial football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation for its eight member nat ...

, where the country finished fourth, and at four at the

, where they won the bronze medal.

Banning

On 28 February 1983, Farhan was playing for Saudi Arabia at the

in a match against long-time rivals Kuwait. Kuwait was leading 2–1 in extra time when Farhan was given a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

and sent off for a foul, as a result of "rough play". Farhan sat on the

substitute bench In association football, a substitute is a player who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player. Substitutions are generally made to replace a player who has become tired or injured, or who is performing poorly, ...

for several minutes until play was suspended when his teammate, Samir Abdul Shakour, was also given a red card for the same offence. Farhan then walked back onto the field and punched the match's referee,

, in the head, before walking back off again. Ponnet was rendered unconscious and was bleeding from his ear, which was seriously injured. He was taken to hospital where he remained overnight. Following the attack the match was ended with six minutes remaining, giving Kuwait the victory. Farhan was subsequently banned for life from international games by

, and was also given a two-year ban from local games by the Saudi Federation. Farhan resumed competing locally after his ban was lifted. His actions at the World Military Cup made him popular among some fans, though his career in Saudi Arabia never fully recovered. Farhan gave an interview regarding the incident in 2011, where he expressed remorse for the incident and advised fans not to imitate him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farhan, Jamal Saudi Arabian footballers Saudi Professional League players Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1982 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for Saudi Arabia Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games Men's association football forwards 20th-century Saudi Arabian people