Credit: Twitter
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo was visibly livid with the referees in Al-Nassr’s AFC Champions League Playoff fixture against Shadab Al-Ahli at the KSU Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on August 22. Ronaldo and Al-Nassr had to pull off a gruelling comeback to stay alive in the continental tournament after being 2-1 down at the 46-minute mark.
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But with an Anderson Talisca brace and goals from Sultan Al-Ghannam and Marcelo Brozovic, Faris Najd registered a 4-2 victory and qualified for the next stage. However, this Al-Nassr win could have been more straightforward if the Saudi club received two penalty kicks in the first half that certainly riled up Ronaldo. The first incident came in the 27th minute when Ronaldo felt he was fouled in the box but the referee had no reaction.
The next moment of disagreement between CR7 and the officials was after the former Manchester United star attempted an over-head kick and a Shadab Al-Ahli defender had a clear handball. Then Ronaldo lost his cool after being brought down in the box and not getting another call. Hence, while walking back to the dressing rooms at half-time, a furious Cristiano Ronaldo confronted the official and yelled, “Wake up” at the referee before shoving away a fan on the touchline.
In the second half, Al-Nassr put forth a better team effort to grind out a win and stay alive in the tournament. Addressing the poor officiating calls, commentator Ahmed Afifi called out the referees and said, “I never talk about the refereeing, but Al Nassr will make me break this rule. In every game, something against them happens,” as per TeamCRonaldo.
