Artem Bondarenko was supposed to be Marino Pusic’s man. Instead, he has become his problem.
On the eve of Al-Ahli’s Roshn League clash with Al-Hazm at Alinma Stadium in Jeddah, the Ukrainian midfielder has been dropped from the matchday squad yet again, a decision that has only tightened the pressure around the Dutch coach.
Saudi journalist Waleed Saeed revealed on X that Pusic has excluded Bondarenko from the list, along with Brazilian winger Matheus Goncalves. For Bondarenko, this is not a one-off message. It is a pattern.
This is the third time the 26-year-old has been left out entirely since his summer move from Shakhtar Donetsk. Three omissions in seven league rounds for a player personally requested by the coach tells its own story.
His minutes so far have been scattered and uneasy. Bondarenko has appeared only twice in the Roshn League for Al-Ahli: the 3-1 defeat to Al-Khaleej in the fourth round and the emphatic 5-0 win over Al-Riyadh in the fifth. Two games, two very different results, but the same reaction from the stands.
The crowd never truly welcomed him.
Al-Ahli supporters had already voiced their opposition before the transfer was completed, pushing back against the idea of signing him. When he finally stepped onto the pitch in green, the tension did not ease. During the win over Al-Riyadh, sections of the fans jeered him, a clear sign that the relationship had started on the wrong foot and was getting worse, not better.
Since that night, he has disappeared from the team sheet.
Pusic left him out of the squad for the 3-0 loss to Al-Hilal in the third round, then again for the 3-2 defeat to Al-Qadsiah in the sixth. Now comes a third straight omission against Al-Hazm. For a coach under scrutiny, removing his own handpicked signing only sharpens the focus on his decisions.
The irony is hard to miss. Pusic knew Bondarenko well, having coached him at Shakhtar between 2023 and 2025. That familiarity helped drive the move, a transfer the coach clearly believed would strengthen his midfield and give Al-Ahli a reliable option in the engine room.
Instead, the signing has opened a rift between the coach and a demanding fanbase that has never been shy about voicing its judgment. Every time Bondarenko’s name disappears from the squad list, it serves as a reminder: the coach backed a player the supporters never wanted.
Now, as Al-Ahli step out at Alinma Stadium without the Ukrainian again, the question hangs over Pusic, not Bondarenko.
If the coach cannot find a place for his own trusted midfielder, how long will the fans keep a place for him on the bench?
