Saudi Al-Hilal sacks Uruguayan coach Matosas

Riyadh : Saudi football club Al-Hilal said it has sacked its Uruguayan coach Gustavo Matosas, less than three months after appointing him, citing his "strange technical decisions" among the reasons.

The management said Thursday it had been in talks with the Argentine-born coach since the club's 2-1 defeat to Al-Ittifaq in the third week of the Saudi Professional League.

It said Matosas was sacked because of "insisting on his own way and due to his strange convictions," charging that he "did not deploy the team members in the best way."

It said Matosas fielded players out of their usual positions while he kept fit players on the bench in a recent game that Al-Hilal struggled to win 2-1.

AL-Hilal had signed up Matosas, 51, in June for a one-year renewable contract.