Luck deserts United in Saudi

MANCHESTER UNITED’S Saudi adventure ended in defeat last night as a missed injury-time penalty by teenager Danny Welbeck, combined with some rather unusual refereeing, secured a 3-2 victory for Al Hilal in Riyadh.

United had been paid £1 million (€1.34 million) by the Saudi royal family to fly out to Riyadh — despite safety warnings from the British Foreign Office — to provide the opposition in Sami Al Jaber’s testimonial.

And even in this hardline country, where alcohol is banned and adultery punishable by death, United were still treated like megastars by the football-crazy locals.