Saudi Arabia sports chief hits out at World Cup team for 'less than five per cent effort' during Russia defeat

Saudi Arabia’s sports authority chief has lashed out at the national team after their 5-0 loss to hosts Russia, complaining in a video rant that they put in “less than five per cent effort.”

Turki al-Sheikh apologised for the Saudi side's performance after their hammering in the World Cup's opening game at the Luzhniki Stadium on Thursday.

The result was one of the worst for an opening match since Brazil beat Mexico 5-0 in Geneva in 1954.

"We've done everything we could for the national team players," he said in the video, which was posted on his Twitter account and received more than 30,000 retweets. "They've blackened my face.

"We've been covering all their expenses for three years, we've hired the best coaching team and a world-class head coach for them, but they did not fulfil what was required of them even by five per cent.

“We must accept this reality, their abilities and capabilities are like that."

He also personally apologised to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the heir to the Saudi throne, who sat watching the game with Russian President Vladimir Putin in his private box.

Some commentators on his post said it would do little to boost the morale of the team, which still has a number of games to play to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Sheikh, who is a member of the ruling royal family, also threatened legal action against BeIN Sports channel, whose commentating and broadcast of the match was very one-sided, he said, favouring Russia over Saudi Arabia.

The channel is a spinoff of al-Jazeera Media Network, whose Qatari government owners have be subject to a year-long blockade by Riyadh. 

Juan Antonio Pizzi, Saudi Arabia’s coach, described a "feeling of shame".

"The opposing team really didn't have to make a huge effort to win this game," he said after a one-sided showing that marked a dream start for the home team in front of a capacity crowd.

"We have now to forget this feeling of shame and start thinking about the next match."

Argentine-born Pizzi, who speaks no Arabic, was appointed to the job after Saudi Arabia qualified last year for the finals. They inexplicably sacked Bert van Marwijk despite a successful campaign and then his successor Edgardo Bauza before the World Cup draw in November.

Pizzi has been in charge for the last seven months and insisted the Saudis had shown much improvement since.

Saudi Arabia sent some players to the Spanish league for experience this season but they did not get much playing time while there.

"This game should not be a point of reference. We didn't play the way we planned to. It is left to us to be positive and start thinking about the next match," he said.

Saudi Arabia's next Group A encounter is against Uruguay in Rostov on June 20.

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