Cristiano Ronaldo had two goals ruled out for offside before eventually finding the net as Al-Nassr beat Al-Kholood 5-3 in an eventful Roshn Saudi League match.
The victory, played at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, came in the 12th round of the competition and lifted Al-Nassr to 28 points. The result kept the club second in the standings, level with Al-Qadsiah, who have played one more match. Al-Hilal lead the table on 27 points, according to the figures provided in the match data.
Ronaldo’s first effort was disallowed in the 11th minute after referee Khalid Al-Trais judged the Portugal forward to have been offside during the build-up. The decision was subsequently supported by the use of semi-automated offside technology.
That ruling denied the Al-Nassr captain an early goal as he attempted to add to his season’s tally. Ronaldo protested the decision, but the review confirmed that the original call had been correct.
The controversy returned in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, when Ronaldo appeared to score again. The goal was cancelled for the same offence, with Al-Trais once more ruling that the attacker had been in an offside position.
Abdullah Al-Qahtani, the refereeing expert, also backed the second decision in comments made to Saudi network Thmanyah. He said the goal had been correctly disallowed under the laws of the game, meaning both of Ronaldo’s early attempts against Al-Kholood were removed from the final score.
Despite losing what would have been a first-half double, Ronaldo later succeeded in getting on the scoresheet as Al-Nassr completed a five-goal performance and secured all three points.
The result extended Al-Nassr’s strong position in the race for top spot, with their attacking display overcoming the debate surrounding Ronaldo’s two disallowed efforts.
Al-Kholood remain on 12 points and dropped to 10th in the table after the defeat. Their three goals were not enough to prevent Al-Nassr from claiming a win in a match marked by a succession of goals and the decisions involving the Portuguese captain.
Ronaldo’s ruled-out double therefore became one of the main talking points of the match, but the forward eventually contributed to an Al-Nassr victory that strengthened their position near the top of the Roshn Saudi League.
