“I saw something strange” - Al-Nassr coach highlights referee problem after Cristiano Ronaldo’s disallowed goal in 1-1 draw with Al-Raed
Cristiano Ronaldo's manager Luis Castro has insisted he saw something strange with the match referee after Al-Nassr were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Raed (August 22).
Al-Nassr's shaky form continued as they failed to start their 2024-25 Saudi Pro League campaign with a win. Cristiano Ronaldo headed home in the 34th minute to open the scoring, however, controversy reigned supreme in the second half.
Aymeric Laporte conceded a penalty for the hosts after the match official and VAR deemed him to have pulled the shirt of an Al-Raed star, despite the Spaniard barely making contact. Mohamed Fouzair dispatched his spot-kick in the 49th minute to make it 1-1.
Cristiano Ronaldo thought he had completed his brace in the 76th minute when he slotted home. However, his goal was disallowed after his arm was barely in an offside position. Al-Nassr were then denied a penalty in the dying seconds of the game after the referee decided not to award the spot-kick, despite an Al-Raed player handling the ball inside the box.
During the post-match press conference, Castro said (via @TheNassrZone):
“The cancellation of Ronaldo's goal is incorrect and we have a penalty kick that was not given. A game we dominated, we had 100 attacks and 13 corners. Mistakes led to our draw today. Football is unfair."
He added:
“I started playing football when I was 11 years old and played in many tournaments, but here I saw really strange things from the referee. I saw something strange. The referee called the VAR because there was a penalty kick, but he then decided not to give it.”
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr will be desperate to come back strong in their next fixture against Al-Feiha (August 27).
How did Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr fare in their 1-1 draw against Al-Raed?
Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr failed to bounce back from their 4-1 loss to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final after they were held to a 1-1 draw against Al-Raed in the SPL.
The hosts dominated possession at Al-Awwal Stadium with 72 percent of the ball. They completed 553 passes with an accuracy of 89 percent. In contrast, Al-Raed had just 28 percent possession, completing 180 passes with an accuracy of 71 percent.
The Knights of Najd were much more dominant in attack as well, landing 28 shots in total with eight being on target. They boasted an xG of 2.29 and hit the woodwork once. Meanwhile, Al-Raed mustered seven shots with five being on target, garnering an xG of 1.02.