Ronaldo shouted and demanded a change of referee.

Saudi Arabian striker Cristiano Ronaldo, 38, received a yellow card for reacting to the referee after Al Nassr beat Al Ettifaq 1-0 to advance to the King Cup quarter-finals.

Goal scorer: Mane 107

In the 12th minute, Ronaldo was tripped by an opponent outside the Al Ettifaq penalty area, but Chilean referee Piero Maza did not blow the whistle for a foul and gestured for Al Nassr's captain to get up. Ronaldo chased after him, then pointed at the referee and shouted loudly. The referee raised his hand to signal Ronaldo to calm down, but he walked away and kept saying something. Because the player did not listen, Maza decided to show CR7 a yellow card. The Portuguese superstar nodded in displeasure, while the home crowd cheered in support of their captain.

A moment later, Ronaldo went to the touchline, then turned towards his team's technical area and shouted, "It's always against me. They're always against me. It's ridiculous."

Ronaldo gestured with his hands, implying he wanted a change of referee, during Al Nassr's match against Al Ettifaq at the Al Awal Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the Round of 16 of the King's Champions League on October 31, 2023. (Image: Screenshot)

Referee Maza continued to make controversial decisions in favor of the home team . In injury time of the first half, defender Alex Telles crossed the ball from the left to striker Anderson Talisca, who rushed in to tap it into the net from close range. The referee initially awarded the goal, but VAR intervened, prompting him to review the situation before ruling Ronaldo offside. Ronaldo did not touch the ball, but was deemed to have interfered with the play.

Ronaldo asked the referee for an explanation, and the referee said he was offside by just a few centimeters. The 38-year-old superstar responded that he was being held from behind by defender Jack Hendry and therefore couldn't do anything else. Despite this, referee Maza disallowed Talisca's goal. Ronaldo then turned towards the technical area, gestured for a substitution, and pointed towards Maza, implying that the referee should be replaced.

A few minutes later, Talisca punched defender Hamdan Al-Shamrani in the face in a foul, for which referee Maza showed him a yellow card. VAR intervened again, causing the Chilean referee to review the incident and then issue a direct red card, sending the Brazilian forward off. Seeing this, Ronaldo sarcastically remarked, "Of course. Of course."

Referee Maza was invited to officiate at the King Cup in Saudi Arabia, and he is known for his strictness. In his last 10 matches in South America, he has issued seven red cards. In the 89th minute, midfielder Ali Hazazi fouled Otavio to stop a counter-attack, with three opposing players still defending. However, Maza still issued a direct red card to Hazazi despite strong protests from the visiting team.

Ronaldo didn't have many chances in the two halves of regular time, apart from a free kick that hit the wall and a shot inside the penalty area that deflected off defender Hendry. Because Al Nassr played with ten men for most of the second half, the 38-year-old striker had to drop deeper to help with defensive duties. In the first half of extra time, he had a close-range chance but lost his balance, sending the ball wide of the post. In the final 15 minutes, Ronaldo fired a powerful shot towards the goal from about 15 meters, but this time goalkeeper Paulo Victor dived to push the ball away.

Mane (right) shines with the only goal of the match. Photo: ANFC

Al Ettifaq is ranked 486th in the world according to the Opta Power Index, behind Southeast Asian clubs like Johor Darul Tazim (Malaysia). They are managed by Steven Gerrard, who has recruited former Liverpool stars such as Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum. However, Gerrard's team has failed to create any dangerous opportunities despite playing with a man advantage.

Al Nassr regained control of the game after Hazazi was sent off, and then scored the decisive goal in extra time. In the 107th minute, substitute Ayman Yahya crossed the ball from the left, causing the visiting team's defender to miss the clearance. Mane rushed in and tapped the ball in with his left foot from about 5 meters, scoring the only goal of the match.

The King Cup is a tournament for 32 professional teams from Saudi Arabia, including 18 Pro League teams and 14 second-division teams. The tournament is played in a knockout format, quite similar to the English League Cup. In the round of 16, Al Nassr beat second-division team Ohod 5-1 when Ronaldo was not playing.

This time, Ronaldo played the full 120 minutes but couldn't score against Al Ettifaq. At one point, chants of "Messi, Messi" rang out from the stands – referring to the player who had just won his eighth Ballon d'Or. In response, Ronaldo put his finger to his lips, gesturing for the crowd to be quiet.

Hoang An

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/ronaldo-quat-thao-doi-thay-trong-tai-4671446.html