Sami Al-Jaber and Mohammed Noor cast doubt on Ronaldo's goal against Al-Faisaly: what happened?
The Portuguese star makes the headlines
Al-Nassr's second goal against Al-Faisaly sparked widespread controversy, after a number of former Saudi football stars questioned whether Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to have it credited to his name. One incident from the clash became a focal point of debate among analysts, despite the Portuguese global star emerging with a valuable win.
Read also: the referee's report settles the controversy: will Ronaldo be denied his goal against Al-Faisaly?
Al-Nassr secured a 3-1 victory over Al-Faisaly on Friday evening, in the eleventh round of the Saudi Roshn Pro League, continuing their pursuit of top spot. But the goal Ronaldo scored in the 49th minute stole the spotlight, with argument raging over who actually put the ball in the net.
It came from a Joao Felix free-kick. The Portugal forward whipped in the cross, Ronaldo rose to head it goalwards, and the ball then struck Al-Faisaly's Brazilian defender Andre Giroto before nestling in the net. That final touch opened the door to one key question: would the header have crept in without it?
Sami Al-Jaber, speaking on the "Nadeena" programme, argued that the video replay and slow-motion footage point to Giroto as the scorer, with the ball changing direction after striking the Brazilian before crossing the line. The former Al-Hilal legend wasn't alone in that view.
Mohammed Noor and Hussein Abdulghani shared his doubts. The trio believed Giroto may be the scorer after the ball deflected off him, while the debate centred on the trajectory of Ronaldo's header before that touch.
Noor recalled a similar incident from the 2022 World Cup, when controversy surrounded Portugal's goal against Uruguay. It was ultimately credited to Bruno Fernandes, despite Ronaldo believing he had got his head to the ball.
"This resembles his goal in the 2022 World Cup, at the time the goal was credited to Bruno Fernandes," Noor said in his comment.
The referee had the final word. Despite all the controversy, he credited the goal to football's all-time top scorer, who raised his tally to 982 goals.
