The >former head of religious edicts in Saudi Arabia's Assir governorate, Sheikh Saad Al Hajari, said it is haram (unacceptable) for Muslim women to watch football matches on television.
Why? Because according to the controversial cleric, their eyes would be attracted to footballers' thighs.
Al-Hajari made the shocking statement in response to a question he was asked during a religious sermon held a few years back.
Footage of his response was uploaded to Youtube in 2015, but resurfaced on social media earlier last week and is now going viral.
"If they see these men's thighs, arms and tight clothes, it's just sinful and corrupt"
In the newly resurfaced footage, the cleric is heard saying:
"What's the point of women watching football matches? What is the benefit of that? There is no benefit. They'll be looking at footballers' thighs and all their attention will be on that. They wouldn't even care about the competition or scores."
Al Hajari then also directed his "advice" to husbands who "allow" their wives to watch such games.
"Do you have no shame? Do you not fear God? You let her watch these kind of things," he added.
The resurfaced comments are now going viral
People are understandably shocked
"The outlandish bizarreness of these clerics."
And outraged...
"There's nothing worse than the rhetoric held by the likes of this man, they are self-proclaimed Islamic scholars."
"These personalities defame Islam"
"You ignorant man"
Some just couldn't even with the statement
Others vented their frustration
"People advance and we're still stuck at what's considered haram (unacceptable in Islam) and what's not."
The statement is not too surprising coming out of Al Hajari though
The controversial cleric >sparked outrage last year after old footage of him saying that a woman "shouldn't be allowed to drive because she has a quarter of a brain," also resurfaced and went viral.
At the time, intense backlash against the statement led Saudi authorities to >ban Al Hajari from giving sermons in the kingdom.