In a historic first, Iranian TV broadcasts Saudi Pro League match

Football fans in Iran have come out in praise of Saudi football after the Islamic Republic’s state television broadcast Friday’s “Classico” match between champions Al-Ittihad and former Asian champions Al-Hilal on its sports channel.

It was the first time that a domestic Saudi match has been shown in Iran, and the audience was treated to an instant classic.

In a hugely dramatic encounter, Al-Hilal — boosted by a hat-trick from Aleksander Mitrovic — came back from being 3-1 down at half time to win 4-3 and leapfrog their rival from Jeddah to the top of the Roshn Saudi League standings.

This comes as many nations around the world are increasingly broadcasting SPL matches following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr at the end of last year and the ensuing influx of some of the world’s best players to the Saudi Pro League this summer.

On his personal account on X, previously Twitter, Saudi media personality Mohammed Alshega posted screenshots of comments from Iran  — translated from Farsi — praising the SPL, saying: “Beautiful reactions that confirm the kindness of the Iranian people.”

One Iranian football fan posted: “I am watching the match between Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad. The standard of football has reached that of European leagues. What progress by these Arab nations in sports.”

Another one said: “I never imagined there would come a day when I would sit down and watch the Saudi league and enjoy it. Excellent stadium, beautiful football, wonderful camera work, professional production, passionate crowd and a super league of the highest standards in the world.”

Among other similar comments, one poster highlighted the landmark nature of the broadcast. “I’m watching this historic event: the first match in