Kuwait national football coach shot by neighbor

The coach of Kuwait’s national football team, Goran Tufegdžić, has been shot by his neighbor after the two fought over a piece of land in his native Serbia, Al Arabiya learned Saturday.

“The coach is in critical condition. He is currently at the intensive care unit,” Ali Mahmoud, the Kuwaiti team supervisor, told Al Arabiya.

Mahmoud said he has been in touch with Tufegdžić’s wife, who told him that their elderly neighbor had been in a dispute with the couple over a piece of land. When the argument escalated, the neighbor brought a gun and shot her husband.

Mahmoud told Al Arabiya that members of the Kuwait Football Association have expressed their shock and sadness after hearing the news. A delegation from Kuwait FA will visit Serbia to check on the coach, who was on vacation.

Tufegdžić, 42, has led Kuwait to win the West Asian Championship in 2011 and the Gulf Cup in Yemen in 2010. He has recently extended his contract to coach the Kuwaiti team for one more year. With a $300,000 annual salary, he is considered one of the most highly-paid coaches to ever manage the team.