Cristiano Ronaldo is SENT OFF for appearing to elbow and stamp on an opponent during Al-Nassr’s Saudi Cup semi-final defeat – before raising a fist towards the referee after red card
- Cristiano Ronaldo cannot hide his anger at the referee as he is sent off for Al-Nassr
- Ronaldo’s team dropped out of the Saudi Super Cup with a defeat against Al-Hilal
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Cristiano Ronaldo was so indignant after being sent off as Al-Nassr crashed out of the Saudi Super Cup that he had to restrain himself from giving the impression he wanted to punch the referee.
The Saudi team was already 2-0 down against Al-Hilal when Ronaldo saw red after colliding with Ali Al-Bulaihi near the touchline.
Al-Bulaihi tried to prevent the Portuguese from taking the ball to take a quick throw-in, leading to a square between the two players.
The Portuguese then appeared to throw an elbow in the direction of the Al-Hilal defender, causing him to fall to the ground and sparking a push-and-pull battle between the players, with the opposition unhappy with the challenge.
Former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly rushed in and was pushed, before Aymeric Laporte tried to act as peacemaker in the dramatic late scenes.
Cristiano saw red after a collision with Ali Al-Bulaihi which he felt did not warrant a red card
The foul led to a brawl between the players and Ronaldo was ultimately sent off
He leaves the field indignant about the decision, almost punching the referee
The foul led to a straight red card for the 39-year-old, leaving him so angry that he raged towards the referee.
So much so that Ronaldo gestured as if he wanted to throw a punch towards the referee and had to force himself not to go through with it.
As he left the field, he made his disgust clear at the decision, telling the crowd, “You are all witnesses to this robbery.”
It was a controversial end to a frustrating evening for both club and player as they were knocked out of the competition by the Saudi Pro League leaders.
Earlier in the match, Ronaldo was shown a yellow card after protests over Al-Nassr’s disallowed goal
Earlier in the evening, Ronaldo had already clashed with the referee after an Al-Nassr goal was disallowed while the match was still goalless.
Otavio thought he had given his side the lead, but it was disallowed after Ronaldo failed to make contact with the ball and Otavio was deemed to be in an offside position when he put the ball in the net.
The Portuguese icon was shown a yellow card for protesting the disallowed goal, causing emotions to flare later in the match.
Salem Aldawsari and Malcom secured victory with two second-half goals to advance to the next round of the Saudi Super Cup, with Sadio Mane providing a late consolation for 10-man Al-Nassr deep in stoppage time.