“He will tell you I went to the bathroom!” - Journalist makes bold claim on Cristiano Ronaldo fine after he refused to collect Super Cup medal
Saudi journalist Walid Al-Faraj has rubbished claims about Cristiano Ronaldo potentially receiving a fine after the Portuguese stormed off the pitch and refused to receive Al-Nassr's runners-up medal on Saturday, August 17.
Cristiano Ronaldo featured for Al-Nassr as they were thrashed 4-1 by rivals Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final. The 39-year-old was seen making lewd gestures to his teammates as he stormed off the pitch after the final whistle was blown.
Ronaldo also didn't return to collect his runners-up medal with the rest of the Al-Nassr squad. This led to many fans speculating he could be fined 20,000 Saudi riyals (£4,000) for breaching a rule which states (via GOAL):
"Anyone who refrains from receiving the prizes without an acceptable excuse will be punished by being deprived of the allocated prizes [financial and in-kind] and a fine."
However, Al-Faraj has stated:
"Without an acceptable excuse? He will tell you, 'I went to the bathroom!' This is an acceptable excuse. What will you tell him then?!"
No action has been taken against Cristiano Ronaldo yet and he is set to feature for Al-Nassr in their Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed (August 22).
How did Cristiano Ronaldo fare during Al-Nassr's loss to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final?
Cristiano Ronaldo was not a happy man after Al-Nassr's woes against Al-Hilal continued on Saturday. The Portugal ace was quick to exit the pitch after Al-Hilal won 4-1, extending his trophyless run at the club.
Ronaldo gave the Knights of Najd the lead in the 44th minute. Unfortunately, they fell apart in the second half, conceding four goals in the span of 17 minutes. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic leveled the scores in the 55th minute before Alexander Mitrovic netted a quick brace. Malcom made it 4-1 with a simple finish after Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento made a poor mistake at the back.
Despite their heavy loss, Cristiano Ronaldo was Al-Nassr's highest-rated player (7.2), as per FotMob. In his 90 minutes on the pitch, the 39-year-old completed 20 out of 27 passes with an accuracy of 74 percent and landed one shot on target from two attempts.
In addition, Ronaldo made six passes into the final third, made just 31 touches, and completed zero accurate long balls from two attempts. He was also only able to win just one out of his three aerial duels.