It was rumored that Sami Zayn's non-inclusion in last Friday's Greatest Royal Rumble main event from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia was due to him being of Syrian descent. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Syria cut ties in 2012. WWE filmed a segment at the GRR go-home RAW that saw Sami mention the 50-man match to Kevin Owens but another segment was later filmed that had Sami say he wasn't feeling well, hinting that he wouldn't be able to make the trip to Saudi Arabia for the event.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports this week that the Sami situation was kept secret before and during the GRR event. Sami knew he wouldn't be appearing for about a week as he was told that he would be doing an injury angle on the April 23rd RAW to explain why he would not be appearing, despite being advertised for the 50-man match. Sami was not told why he was off the show and it looks like he still has not been told, based on what he's said to people privately since then. The Observer adds that Sami is claiming he has been given no explanation for why he was pulled from the show.
There was also a directive handed down, that no one could speak on the Sami issue until after the show, to avoid any potential controversy over WWE being told that one of their talents could not work a show because of his ethnicity, according to The Observer. Apparently, the whole WWE crew was given a list of cultural miscues to avoid while in the Kingdom and one of the items on this list was to never mention anything about Sami.