Marked for Petar Panić
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Feb 2027
Sultan Ismail damages knee ligaments — 42 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 42 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match6 Feb 2027
0‑4 against Al Nasr, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad8 Feb 2027
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad8 Feb 2027
11 seasons and 129 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.
Market8 Feb 2027
Only the photograph left for Fahad Barout
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Fahad Barout will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al Fujairah the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Petar Panić and Al Fujairah agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. San Marcos de Arica have kept their man, and Al Fujairah go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑4, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Dec 2026
10 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match5 Dec 2026
0‑4 to Baniyas, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market7 Dec 2026
Mohamed Ali hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al Fujairah can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Mohammad Essa breaks a bone — 17 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 17 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Oumar Traoré and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Novak Vuković and Al Fujairah agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Petar Panić
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Al Fujairah dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
A one-man rearguard from Mohamed Ali
There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑3 by Sharjah, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market14 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al Fujairah, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Oumar Traoré and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Al Fujairah asked and River Plate said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Ahmed Rashid falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Petar Panić, and the manager let it.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Sep 2026
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market7 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al Fujairah, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 20 signed and 2 gone
That is the business done at Al Fujairah until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Oumar Traoré in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Fujairah this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
1 academy graduates step up at Al Fujairah
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Al Fujairah training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Abbas is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match5 Sep 2026
0‑2 to Baniyas, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al Fujairah, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market31 Aug 2026
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Al Fujairah have paid $950.0K for Oumar Traoré, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Al Fujairah training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Petar Panić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Aguilas Doradas have kept their man, and Al Fujairah go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Oumar Traoré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
San Lorenzo have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with Al Jazira, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Al Fujairah training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Petar Panić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al Ain have kept their man, and Al Fujairah go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Mohamed Ali in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Fujairah this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Al Fujairah will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
A loan move for Amadou Niang is in the works
Al Fujairah have made the call to Al Ain. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market17 Aug 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Rashed Suroor has his answer from Al Fujairah; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Market17 Aug 2026
At 33, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Petar Panić has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Petar Panić keeps the shirt for now, at Al Fujairah's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
11 seasons and 127 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Petar Panić and Al Fujairah agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al Jazira have kept their man, and Al Fujairah go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ervin Taha and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Baniyas: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Al Wahda have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Novak Vuković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market3 Aug 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Sultan Sabeel has his answer from Al Fujairah; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Gabriel Santini’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.