Two images. A 3D reconstruction of a broken skull and another photograph of two Saudi Arabian players facing off. Experts say there is no relationship.
It was the first surprise in the World Cup in Qatar. In November last year, Saudi Arabian players shocked the world by beating Messi’s Argentina 2-1.
But the victory of Saudi Arabia was not the only theme that marked this meeting. At 90+4 minutes of play, a violent collision between the goalkeeper of the Saudi national team and his teammate Yasser Al-Shahrani forced the defender to be assisted by doctors on the pitch. Al-Shahrani was hit in the face with the goalkeeper’s knee, had to be substituted out of the game and did not return to the pitch during the competition.
Al Shahrani was underwent two surgeries, between November 24 and 27. The violent clash with the goalkeeper caused not only skull fractures, but also internal bleeding, forcing the medical team to operate on the Saudi defender’s pancreas. The information was confirmed at the time by the selection of Saudi Arabia, via Twitter.
Yasser Al Shahrani undergoes a second surgery ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/kzgCSX9Iw3
—Saudi National Team (@SaudiNT_EN) November 27, 2022
Even before the information about the surgical interventions, hours after the meeting, a montage was shared on Facebook that put side by side a photograph taken during the meeting between Saudi Arabia and Argentina — showing the collision between the Saudi goalkeeper’s knee and Al-Shahrani’s face — and an image of a 3D skull with deep damage, including a broken chin and some missing teeth. If the montage left room for doubt about the association that was intended to be established with the two images, the caption quickly responded: “Incredible facial trauma of Saudi Arabian player in yesterday’s match with Argentina.”
Clash between two players in the match between Saudi Arabia and Argentina.
But there is no confirmation, neither from the player nor from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation nor from the team, that the image that shows a 3D skull corresponds to Al-Shahrani’s face after the clash with the goalkeeper.
The only information shared was a video of Al-Shahrani still in the hospital bed recovering from surgery, making sure she was okay.
To watch: #saudi Footballer Yasser al-Shahrani assures fans that he is recovering well after sustaining a painful injury during the Kingdom’s match against #Argentina in it #World Cup.https://t.co/gUMX3Uwneb pic.twitter.com/l5N59FEV1y
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) November 23, 2022
The video shows the face of the Saudi player, after the first surgery on the pancreas, and does not show the same injuries that are identified in the 3D image that shows the skull damaged in the jaw and teeth. And the images themselves “are not reliable”, as explained to the Observer by the specialist in Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Ângelo Rebelo, since the test does not have any “characterization or identification” of the patient. Ângelo Rebelo considers that “nothing can be concluded from the photograph, if it happened after this accident.”
The examination shows “a large fracture in the jaw and even the lack of some dental pieces”, which would lead to a “complex and prolonged surgery”. In addition, the Al-Shahrani video reveals some red lines that make it possible to rule out the relationship between the X-ray image and the accident suffered by the Saudi player, according to the specialist: first, the player’s ability to articulate words, with a fracture of that size, before or after surgery, since it would imply the “immobilization of the movement of the mouth”.
The thesis is confirmed by other specialists to the Spanish news agency EFE: the the lesions identified in the 3D skull reconstruction are not verifiable in the video of Al-Shahrani after the game against Argentina, first, missing teeth and broken jaw.
Conclution
3D scan showing image of deeply damaged skull not of Saudi Arabian player Al-Shahrani, after he collided with a teammate’s knee during the World Cup group stage match against Argentina from Qatar. The experts heard by The Observer explain that the injuries identified in the 3D reconstruction of the skull are not verifiable in the video of Al-Shahrani, still in the hospital bed, after the match against Argentina.
Thus, according to the Observer classification, this content is:
WRONG
In Facebook’s rating system, this content is:
FALSE: Key content claims are factually inaccurate. This option generally corresponds to “fake” or “mostly fake” ratings on fact check sites.
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Source: Observadora
