A dance move may spell trouble for a football player in Saudi Arabia after he dabbed on the pitch.
Dabbing is a hip-hop dance move that became a cultural trend in the US in 2015.
However, the seemingly innocuous move is illegal in Saudi Arabia for its links to drug use. The country’s National Committee for Combating Drugs claims that the dance move suggests sniffing drugs.
Inquisitr reports that during a King’s Cup match, a player from Saudi club Al Nojoom was walking toward the benches when a teammate reached out to high-five him. The player dabbed instead.
A video shared on the Twitter account of sports broadcast app Dawri Plus shows the incident. The commentator is heard saying “no, no, no” after the dab.
👀#الوحدة_النجوم #دوري_بلس pic.twitter.com/niD2b8ncC9
— دوري بلس (@dawriplusksa) January 3, 2018
It was unclear what consequences this had for the unidentified player. Saudi TV host and actor Abdallah Al Shahani was arrested after a video circulated of him dabbing in a concert.
After his arrest and online criticism, Al Shahani issued an apology which read, “I apologize to our respected government and to my audience for unintentionally and spontaneously making the dance move at Taif festival. Please accept my apology.”
Dabbing is a common celebratory move in sports, with the likes of Manchester United footballer Paul Pogba and American quarterback Cam Newton dabbing in games. Even politicians such as Hillary Clinton and French president Emmanuel Macron got in on the act when it was a fading trend. Niña V. Guno /ra
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