An ambitious plan by one of the world's richest men to fill Sunday morning's Asian Champions League final with diehard Al-Hilal fans has unexpectedly backfired after fans of rival Saudi Arabian clubs – who have pledged to support the Western Sydney Wanderers – swooped in to collect a bounty of tickets.

In a rare glimpse inside the frenetic passions of football in the Middle East, the presence of Al-Hilal in the Asian Champions League final has divided the country, where supporters of the venerated club are being met with equal passion among those desperate to see them fail.

Wanderers fans will make their presence felt in Riyadh. Credit:Getty Images

The club's vice-president, Mohamad Al Hmaidani, reportedly said that any Saudi fans not supporting Al-Hilal should be "beaten up". While confusion exists over the nature of that claim, and whether it was made in jest, video of the ticket giveaway captures Al Hmaidani addressing the crowd at the club's Riyadh headquarters.

"The ones who are not 'Hilali' [The name given to Al-Hilal supporters] are a curse on their parents," he can be clearly heard saying. In Arabic, such a phrase is considered highly offensive, and has contributed to the ill-feeling towards Al-Hilal.