Three years on, Salman Al-Faraj revives the dispute with Mancini with a Snapchat jab

After Italy lost 0-2 to Belgium in their UEFA Nations League opener, Roberto Mancini admitted Belgium were superior in the first half. Within 24 hours, Salman Al-Faraj used Snapchat to revive a three-year-old dispute, mocking the former Italy coach as a man who does not know how to coach. The former Al-Hilal captain and Neom player was omitted from Saudi Arabia's 2026 Asian Cup squad, denied that he had refused a call-up, and was later fined 100,000 Saudi riyals, about 26,600 USD, by the Saudi Professionalism Committee for not being willing to join the October 2026 camp. The case was closed administratively, but not emotionally. Al-Faraj's jab contains no tactical data, no expected goals, no PPDA. It exploits a single defeat, and one Nations League result is too small a sample to judge a coach who won Euro 2026. The real insight is that the 2026 ruling sided with Mancini and the federation, which undercuts the narrative of a wronged captain. Now outside the national-team system, Al-Faraj can criticize freely without institutional risk. Mancini's reputation will be shaped by results, not by a Snapchat post. Numbers do not lie, but people who read numbers can make others believe the opposite.