RIYADH — The Saudi Arabian Football Federation Wednesday sacked the national team’s Dutch manager Frank Rijkaard after the Kingdom failed to pass the group stage of the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations in Bahrain.

“The decision to fire Rijkaard was taken unanimously during the board meeting,” a source close to the meeting told AFP.

Rijkaard is the second manager to lose his job at the championship after Qatar Tuesday announced the dismissal of Brazilian coach Paulo Autuori.

Saudi Arabia lost 2-0 to Iraq and 1-0 to Kuwait, and had a lone victory over Yemen, 2-0.

Rijkaard’s contract with Saudi Arabia was reportedly worth $9 million, with a penalty clause of more than $4 million in case of dismissal. But the head of the Kingdom’s sports body, Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal, who was the head of the football body when Rijkaard was hired in July 2011, has said that he is willing to foot the bill of ending his three-year contract.— AFP