Majid Nasser turned 28 in April. But his latest burst of madness on the football field indicates he has barely learnt from the trough of life.
Making a comeback into the Al Wasl fold for their crucial Gulf Clubs Cup final against Bahrain’s Al Muharraq, the erratic Al Wasl and UAE national team goalkeeper lasted all of nine minutes. Al Muharraq scored their first goal of the night in the ninth minute. Nasser picked up the ball from the net and as the Bahraini players tried to claim it from him, the Al Wasl goalkeeper was seen pushing and shoving before head-butting one of the players.
The referee saw no hesitation in flashing the red card, thus marking yet another short-tempered incident in the decade-old career of the Fujairah-born player.
Fans in the UAE light-heartedly believe that Nasser’s reputation for such on-pitch incidents stems from the fact that he was born and raised in distant Fujairah. This is hardly a justification for a player who has 61 caps for his national team. But then, such incidents have been a habit with the Fujairah player who transferred to Al Wasl in 2006.
No role model
The first recorded incident in the Nasser annals of on-field brawls dates back to 2001 while playing for the Fujairah youth team against Al Shabab Club. He verbally and physically assaulted a referee and threw a rock at the assistant referee. He drew a one-year suspension and a fine of Dh6,000.
His next brush with ill-discipline came during Al Wasl’s first league match against Al Jazira in 2007 when Nasser assaulted the assistant referee. He was sentenced to a 13-match ban along with a fine of Dh10,000. But repentance on the part of the player saw the Appeal Committee reduce the ban to five matches.
Last year, the UAE Football Association imposed a one-match ban and a Dh1,000 fine on the goalkeeper for throwing one of the chairs scattered around the ground during a league match against Al Wahda. And then in March this year, Nasser received a 17-match ban along with a Dh30,000 fine after slapping Al Ahli Spanish coach Quique Flores-Sanchez following Al Wasl’s Etisalat Cup semi-final loss.
The goalkeeper thought it best to step away from football. But his club — goaded by the legend that is Diego Maradona — backed the player, coaxed him back into the team and Nasser changed his mind on his retirement and helped himself to a fresh lease on football.
However, his reputation got the better of him and Nasser concocted yet another drama. And this time things have been different. Fans from Al Wasl began baying for their goalkeeper’s sacking. The board of directors convened an urgent meeting and pushed the UAE FA to ban their own player for life for bringing such disgrace on the country.
Does he now need sympathy or does Nasser need some urgent sessions in anger management? Time alone will tell.
