Artem Bondarenko Faces Ongoing Exclusion at Al-Ahli
Artem Bondarenko has been at Al-Ahli for only a matter of weeks, but his name is already right at the heart of a storm.
The Ukrainian midfielder, signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer at the insistence of new coach Marino Pusic, has been dropped again. This time, he will not even make the matchday squad for the Roshn League clash with Al-Hazm at Alinma Stadium in Jeddah.
Saudi journalist Waleed Saeed revealed on X that Pusic has excluded Bondarenko from the group, along with Brazilian winger Matheus Goncalves. For Bondarenko, it is becoming a grim pattern. This is the third time he has been left out of the squad entirely since his arrival.
The numbers are stark. Since joining “Al-Raqi,” the 26-year-old has appeared only twice in the league: the 3-1 defeat to Al-Khaleej in the fourth round and the emphatic 5-0 win over Al-Riyadh in the fifth. Those brief outings have been surrounded by long, empty weekends.
He played no part in the 3-0 loss to Al-Hilal in the third round. He was missing again from the 3-2 defeat to Al-Qadsiah in the sixth. Now, as Al-Ahli prepare for the seventh round against Al-Hazm, his absence stretches on.
For Pusic, every omission tightens the pressure.
This was his signing. He had coached Bondarenko at Shakhtar between 2023 and 2025 and pushed hard to bring him to Jeddah, convinced he could be a key figure in midfield. The board backed him. The fans did not.
Supporters made their stance clear even before the deal was completed, voicing their rejection of the move. When Bondarenko finally stepped onto the pitch against Al-Riyadh, the reaction was cutting: jeers from the stands aimed at a player barely given a chance to settle.
He has not featured since.
Now Pusic finds himself caught between his own conviction and the mood of the terraces. Each team sheet without Bondarenko is not just a tactical decision; it is a public admission that the coach’s first major call in the transfer market has, so far, only fuelled discontent.
If results keep slipping and the Ukrainian remains on the fringes, the question will grow louder in Jeddah: how long can a coach stand by a signing he no longer seems willing to trust on the pitch?
