Prior to our first match in the World Cup, Abdullah Al Dabal, a senior SAFF official, said Saudi players chosen as FIFA’s man of the match during their World Cup games will refuse the award because it is sponsored by a famous beer manufacturer. “Saudi players will not accept an award linked to the maker of an alcoholic beverage,” he said, because “Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam.” Therefore, none of our players would be chosen for the award no matter how good he plays. Frustrating, I have to say, and I’m afraid this was not necessary at all.

The award is given by FIFA, not the beer company, and the player is chosen by a group of world’s best coaches, not some drunk dudes. In the history of the game, player chosen for the award will be called Man of the Match, and not Budweiser Man of the Match because the sponsor will be replaced someday, but the award will stay in the records of the tournament forever. It is not like the winner player will do any promotional work for the beer company; meanwhile I think the company is very happy because such action by the Saudis has given them more publicity than they actually hoped for when they sponsored this award.

I feel sorry for our players, even though Mr. Al Dabal said “they understood.” It is said that Khalid Aziz, defensive midfielder of our team, was chosen for the award in the first match, but it was then given to the Tunisian striker Ziad Jaziri. It is a pity the great performances of our players in the most important football tournament in the world will not be recognized.

If you thought that a stop-watch and whistle are about as technological as football got, then think again. This story from the BBC website about the Australian team, which will face Brazil today at the World Cup, gives you a glimpse on how football teams in recent years have employed new technologies to aid them and give them the edge.

Here in Saudi Arabia, we commonly call pick-up trucks “waneet.” I wonder if any of my Saudi readers have ever tried to know where does that word come from. Turki Al Dakheel (Arabic) says this word, like many words that we use in our everyday life, especially in the Eastern Province, has something to do with Saudi Aramco. Back in the days, when Aramco was still in its infancy, they had several missions for oil prospection and exploration. As these mission were located in remote areas where basic supplies are not available, pick-up trucks had to visit them periodically to provide them with life necessities. These truck used to carry serial numbers which started with (18). Employees started to call these trucks which supplied them with food and water “one-eight,” which over time has become “waneet.” Aramco were the first to bring such trucks to the country, and therefore people eventually called every pick-up truck that has come later “waneet,” inside and outside Aramco.

The effect of the oil company on life in the Eastern Province was not limited to language. The presence of Aramco has also affected people’s lives in the region on many different levels. It is very rare that you would find anyone here who does not have a relationship – direct or indirect – with the company or someone who worked for them. My grandfather has worked as a driver for Aramco, but shortly left the company to go back to his original job as a carpenter. His eldest son, my uncle, used also to work for Aramco, and has recently retired. Saudi Aramco manifests the prefect example for a corporation that is wholly owned by the government. As one of the largest oil companies in the world, they are not only financially successful, but they also show a great commitment to the local community and environment. Some people say Aramco has changed very much since its management moved from the Americans to Saudis, and by this they mean it has been plagued by corruption and racism. However, if you ask any young man here about the job of his dream there is a big chance he would say “Aramco.”

Shams, the new Saudi tabloid which was banned for a period of time during the Danish cartoons controversy, has published one of my AFP photos but in a different context for another story. They have used a different caption than the one distributed by the agency. The caption here reads, “Ahmed Al-Omran, a young Saudi browses websites on his laptop.” What a lame line is this?

Ukraine’s defender Vladislav Vashchuk said that their humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of Spain was not the fault of the players – but was down to the frogs. “Because of the frogs’ croaking we hardly got a wink of sleep,” he told the today’s papers. Aha! Now we know what we should do to beat them: tell Saudi fans in Germany to go and through some (many?) frogs outside the Ukranian team’s hotel :-) German newspapers was not impressed at all by the players’ complaints, and described them as the worst World Cup excuse of all time.

One of the things that make me hate shopping here is the awful customer services. For example, most stores refuse to give a cash refund but ask you to exchange the item for something else of the same value. This is not fair. Sarah Abdullah, the Mystery Shopper of Saudi Gazette, asks, “wouldn’t it be wonderful to have somewhere to go to report such dissatisfaction?” If you think the answer is yes, make a stand and join the rest of us in the effort to open Saudi Arabia’s first Consumer Protection Agency. For more information, you can contact Abdullah on her email address: sarah_abdullah94 at hotmail.com.

Sabria Jawhar says some Westerners have underestimated the recent move by the government to clip wings of the religious police because most of them are not aware of the tragedy that some of the religious police’s raids have ended with. However, she says, “I wish more restrictions were put to limit the circumstances upon which their arrests can be made, as opposed to the current practice of simply arresting people for looking suspicious.”