Accusing the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) of discriminating racially against Arabs, Sri Lanka national team coach Abdullah Al Mutairi has stated that he will never return to coach in the SAFF Championship again.

The coach, who hails from Kuwait, has coached two countries in two editions of the SAFF Championship. Previously, he also worked with the Nepal national team in the SAFF Championship held in the Maldives in 2021.

Mutairi, who led Nepal to the final of that tournament, later also coached Afghanistan.

Following yesterday's match where they lost to Bangladesh in the ongoing SAFF Championship, he stated that SAFF discriminates racially against Arabs.

"This is the last time I will come to the SAFF region. Because there is a problem in SAFF. That is practicing racial discrimination against Arabs. They do not love Arabs," stated Mutairi, whose contract as Sri Lanka's coach expires next March.

His outburst was triggered by a notice sent to him by SAFF's legal department at midnight on Tuesday, a day before the match played against Bangladesh.

Mutairi stated that in the notice sent by SAFF after he criticized referees following the match played against Bhutan, he was warned of a potential suspension of between six months and one year, along with a fine of USD 10,000.

He accused that this was an act carried out intentionally to provoke/harass him. Mutairi also noted that in the 2023 tournament, India's then-coach Igor Stimac was fined only USD 500 for his actions.

"Why was it sent at midnight? Why couldn't they wait until nine in the morning? What was the rush?" Mutairi questioned, directing his remarks at SAFF.

He said that while his focus was dedicated to preparing for the important match, with that warning email, he knew the match would be lost to him.

"In football, one must be prepared for everything and accept everything. However, the moment I received that email, I knew we would lose," he stated.