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Banned Cristiano Ronaldo to Expose Saudi Football After Red Card Controversy in Al Nassr Game, Per Reports

Published Apr 10, 2024 | 3:14 AM EDT

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via Reuters

As has always been the case, Cristiano Ronaldo seems again disturbed by the thought that the world is against him. During Al Nassr’s recent Saudi Super Cup semi-final defeat against Al Hilal, Ronaldo helplessly looked at the referee, expecting a penalty when he got knocked down. No penalty was given. Thereafter, towards the end of the second half, a frustrated Al Nassr skipper elbowed Al Hilal’s Ali Albulayhi and immediately received a red card. Now, the 5x Ballon d’Or winner risks a two-game suspension for throwing this temper tantrum. Anyhow, the refereeing in the Saudi Super Cup has tremendously infuriated the Portuguese. He has already stated that the referees were biased against Al Nassr. Now, he aims to further the feud against officials once again.

As per Saudi Arabian journalist Saleh Al Fahid, Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to speak to the press soon and “address the current issues” in Saudi soccer. Moreover, the Al Nassr captain would probably give his reasoning behind the team’s third straight loss against their domestic rivals. The player will also give two cents about his suspension. Al Fahid has added that Ronaldo’s take in the potential press conference would surprise the fans in Saudi Arabia.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has already explicitly condemned the referee’s decision to send him off. When he received the red card, the ex-Real Madrid maestro sarcastically applauded in response. Besides, he showed a clenched fist to the referee. Notably, Al Nassr’s coach Luis Castro has sided with Ronaldo to condemn the refereeing. He also said Al Hilal won because the officiating was in their favor. Anyhow, veteran soccer analysts are not buying CR7’s battle against referees. Rather, they say that the 39-year-old is biased against domestic officials.

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Cristiano Ronaldo called out for bias against local referees

Former Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Deayea spoke at length about Cristiano Ronaldo’s back-and-forth with referees on live TV. The former goalie said Ronaldo would not have retaliated if the referee were a foreigner. Earlier in the Saudi Pro League season, the five-time UCL winner said that two of his goals were wrongly denied by referees in an Al Nassr-Al Shabab game. Subsequently, the Riyadh-based outfit reportedly planned to bring in foreign referees for all of their remaining games.

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This is the second time Ronaldo has faced a ban from playing games this year. Last month, he received a suspension for obscenely pumping his hands to Al Shabab fans who chanted Lionel Messi’s name. Even then, the Al Nassr captain defended his gesture saying it was common in European soccer, where he reigned supreme for years. Therefore, it is quite likely that CR7 would defend his elbowing of Albulayhi and fire back at the referees again in the potential upcoming presser.

Written by:

Krishna Prasad M

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Krishna Prasad is Soccer Writer at EssentiallySports. Unlike others, his journey as a sports enthusiast was not colored by soccer initially. The 2006 FIFA World Cup, however, changed his perspective, as the beautiful game took up a small space in his heart.
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Edited by:

Amal Joyce