Al Nassr may be wondering what went wrong this season. Despite gaining the services of Cristiano Ronaldo, the club has still been trophyless except for the friendly Arab Cup. But their constant thorn in the flesh, Al Hilal, has been cruising to another Saudi League victory. Nevertheless, the most successful club has now received antagonism from more clubs with the claims of referee bias toward them.

Jorge Jesus’ team will take on Al Ain in the semifinal of the AFC Champions League next Tuesday. But a recent report by an X (previously Twitter) news account suggests that the referee appointed for the clash, Adham Makhadmeh, is opposed by the UAE club. The report further states that Al-Ain has sent a letter to the AFC alleging that the particular referee officiated in multiple Al Hilal games and helped them win. It comes after a Jordanian referee team led by Makhadmeh, was selected yesterday to handle the vital clash.

It comes as a relief to Cristiano Ronaldo as he already had issues with refereeing this season. Moreover, the Portuguese captain took a sarcastic dig on Instagram when the officials gave Al Hilal a questionable penalty against Al Riyadh earlier this year. CR7 commented with 9 laughing emojis on a video showing Aleksandar Mitrović missing his strike but falling to the ground with little contact. The game finally saw Al Hilal win despite trailing Al Riyadh, which became a momentum-breaker after the penalty.

Meanwhile, the referee under question has already officiated for the team in blue this season against Mumbai City FC. But the bigger problem appears to be Al Hilal’s winning stint in all four games officiated by Makhadmeh except a single draw in 2017 against Urawa Red Diamonds. 

Former rival joins Cristiano Ronaldo’s fight against Al Hilal

Al Nassr is not the only Saudi club offended by the refereeing decisions. Former league winners Al Shabab have also been on the receiving end after they were denied a penalty against Al Hilal. Kalidou Koulibaly fouled Ivan Rakitic, the team’s player, in the penalty box, but the referee only awarded a goal kick to the league leaders. Consequently, this led Al Shabab to criticize the decision through their Instagram with the comment, “🤷🏻‍♂️😅.”

Even Cristiano Ronaldo’s former rival at Barcelona, Rakitic, replied with the comment, “Nobody can understand….😅🤷‍♂️ we will work hard and never stop.!💪,” supporting CR7’s stance.

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Nevertheless, it remains to see if AFC accepts Al Ain’s request. On the other hand, Al Hilal has won the Saudi Super League already and is 12 points clear of Al Nassr to dominate the league. But can Al Ain induce a referee change and stop their treble? Let us know in the comments.