Referee Mohammed Al-Huwaish ruled out a goal for Al-Nassr against Al-Ettifaq after consulting VAR, before Sadio Mane pulled one back in the 74th minute of their Roshn Saudi League match on Tuesday.
The contest was being played at Al-Ettifaq’s stadium, with Al-Nassr initially facing a two-goal deficit. The visitors were also reduced to 10 men after goalkeeper Bento was sent off in the 12th minute.
Al-Nassr appeared to have reduced the gap eight minutes after half-time when Mane found the net. However, the goal was later disallowed following a review by Al-Huwaish.
The move began when Kingsley Coman played the ball forward to Joao Felix on the right-hand side. Felix carried it into the penalty area before sending a pass across to Mane, who was waiting in front of goal.
Mane finished the move by shooting into the net, but the celebrations were cut short when the referee stopped play and went to review the incident on the VAR monitor.
After checking the footage, Al-Huwaish ruled that Coman had been offside at the start of the attacking sequence that eventually led to Mane’s finish. The decision meant Al-Nassr’s goal was cancelled.
A video of the incident was shared with the caption: “The moment the referee decided to cancel Al-Nassr’s first goal. Is the decision correct?”
The disallowed goal did not end Al-Nassr’s efforts to get back into the match. Their attacks continued, and the combination between Felix and Mane eventually produced a valid goal in the 74th minute.
Felix collected possession before moving the ball to Mane. The Senegal forward then drove through the Al-Ettifaq defence, advanced towards goal and unleashed a powerful effort that struck the back of the net.
That goal was described as Mane reducing the deficit and scoring Al-Nassr’s first goal against Al-Ettifaq. It brought Al-Nassr back into the contest after Al-Ettifaq had taken advantage of the numerical superiority created by Bento’s dismissal.
The earlier attempt had therefore been overturned by VAR, but Mane was able to make the decisive contribution moments later with a goal that stood. His finish gave Al-Nassr renewed hope as they tried to recover from the early sending-off and a two-goal disadvantage.
The match was part of the third round of the Roshn Saudi League and took place on Tuesday.
