Saudi Pro League

[Vesper 27,378]

[Mhsc 646]

You, uh, actually watching this stuff Vesper?

[Vesper 27,378]

[Vesper 27,378]

5 minutes ago, Mhsc said:

You, uh, actually watching this stuff Vesper?

just checking it out

[NikkiCFC 7,601]

El Arabico 3:4 

Mitrovic hat trick. 

Edited September 1, 2023 by NikkiCFC

[NikkiCFC 7,601]

 

[Vesper 27,378]

Cristiano Ronaldo won a penalty for Al Nassr but told the referee to overturn it

It was a fine display of sportsmanship from the legendary striker...

https://www.givemesport.com/cristiano-ronaldo-won-a-penalty-for-al-nassr-but-told-the-referee-to-overturn-it/

HIGHLIGHTS

•  Cristiano Ronaldo displayed good sportsmanship by admitting his mistake and telling the referee he hadn't actually won a fair penalty.
•  Despite his success and status, Ronaldo continues to strive for excellence and deliver top performances.
•  Ronaldo's move to the Saudi Pro League has brought popularity to the league, alongside other big stars.

The terms sportsmanship and Cristiano Ronaldo don't tend to go together that often. It's not that he's ever been guilty of doing anything that bad on a football pitch, it's more that he's just very much a winner who will do whatever he can to taste the sweet nectar of victory.

After all, there are very few on the planet who have scaled the peaks of football quite like Ronaldo has. He is a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, a five-time Champions League winner, a record international goalscorer... Well the list, could go on but you all know what the 38-year-old has achieved.

 

Even now at the latter stage of his career, he continues to strive, and often achieves, the very best. For instance, he has scored nine goals in ten games as he fired Portugal to qualification for Euro 2024 next summer – including one goal and one assist for his nation in the November international break.

Ronaldo top scorer in Saudi Pro League

And while many may have expected him to go somewhat under the radar after completing a move to the Saudi Pro League in December 2022, he has since brought great popularity to the league with a number of other big stars joining him in the Middle East. Not concerned by that competition, Ronaldo has continued to deliver the goods, scoring 15 goals in 13 games to make him the division's top-scorer after the most recent round of fixtures.

With all that in mind, when Al Nassr came up against Persepolis in the AFC Champions League, you can safely assume he was as motivated for this match as he would be for any other. And yet, and yet... Just a few minutes into the game, he appeared to win a penalty but then turned to the referee to admit a mistake had been made.

 

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Indeed, fellow superstar Sadio Mane tried to find Ronaldo with a pass but the ball was blocked. The former Manchester United star raced after the second ball and appeared to have been fouled as he hit the deck. The referee pointed to the spot and awarded a penalty.

 

Ronaldo helps referee cancel penalty mistake

This is where things get interesting, though, as Ronaldo quickly picked himself up and wagged a finger at the referee to point out that it wasn't a penalty and no contact had actually been made. You can see the footage below.

 

 

 

 

It certainly seems like good sportsmanship from Ronaldo to admit his error. However, there was VAR in use for this Group E match in the AFC Champions League and so the referee did have the chance to make his own mind up. When using technology to check the incident, it was clear that no contract was made and so the penalty was indeed overturned.

With that being the case, you could argue that Ronaldo would have been caught anyway. Still, with VAR you never quite know what could happen and so it was honourable enough of him to admit the error and try and have the call overturned against him before the technology was even in use.

Edited December 1, 2023 by Vesper

[Vesper 27,378]

Cristiano Ronaldo scores 50th goal of the year in Al-Nassr win

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67688432

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 50th goal in 2023 as Al-Nassr beat rivals Al-Shabab 5-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Saudi King Cup.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward got his side's fourth in the second half.

That took his tally for the current season to 26 goals, with 16 of those coming in 15 Saudi Pro League games.

Three days ago, Ronaldo played the 1,200th professional match of his career in a 4-1 win against Al-Riyadh.

He scored one goal and got an assist in that game.