A refereeing expert settles the controversy over Al-Fateh's penalty against Al-Hilal

What happened?

A refereeing incident sparked widespread controversy during the clash between Al-Hilal and Al-Fateh. The referee reversed the award of a penalty in favour of the hosts in the 45th minute following a review on the VAR screen, with Al-Fateh's fans and technical staff furious at the decision.

Read also.. Exclusive to Kooora.. Why was the sacking of Al-Ahli Saudi's coach delayed?

It all began when Al-Fateh's players demanded a penalty for a handball inside the box. The video referee intervened and called the on-field official over to review the situation, and he duly cancelled his initial decision, waving away the spot-kick.

Mohamed Kamal Risha, the refereeing analyst for "Al-Riyadiah", backed the referee. He explained that reversing the penalty award was correct once the review revealed the identity of the player whose arm the ball struck.

Risha said: "In the 45th minute, a correct decision from the referee to reverse the award of a penalty to Al-Fateh after returning to watch it on the VAR screen.. There was a handball, and it became clear to the referee after the review that the ball struck the right arm of Mourad Batna, Al-Fateh's player, and not the hand of Kalidou Koulibaly, Al-Hilal's defender."

And so the refereeing expert settled the controversy. The ball touched Mourad Batna's arm, not the hand of Al-Hilal's defender Kalidou Koulibaly, which explains why the referee overturned his initial decision despite the objections that greeted it.