Al-Nassr’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League has prompted referee expert Mohamed Kamal Risha to criticise the execution of the free-kick that led to Bento Matheus’ dismissal, while also arguing that Cristiano Ronaldo should have been awarded a penalty.
Al-Nassr recovered from two goals down to complete a remarkable comeback against their hosts in the third round of the Saudi Pro League, despite playing with 10 men from the 12th minute.
The visitors faced a severe test after Brazilian goalkeeper Bento Matheus was sent off, but responded strongly in the second half to claim all three points in a dramatic contest.
Risha, the Egyptian refereeing analyst for Al-Riyadiya newspaper, said the red card itself was correct, but believed the free-kick that preceded the incident was not taken properly.
Referee Mohammed Al-Huwaish awarded Al-Nassr a foul against left-back Salem Al-Najdi. Al-Ettifaq winger Rayan Messi restarted play quickly, sending the ball towards team-mate Moussa Dembele.
Dembele had moved beyond the Al-Nassr defence and was running through on goal when Bento brought him down just outside the penalty area. Al-Huwaish immediately showed the goalkeeper a straight red card in the 12th minute.
Explaining his view, Risha said: “If Al-Huwaish had stopped play to show Najdi a yellow card, the Al-Ettifaq player would not have been allowed to restart the game quickly. But the referee did not do that, so Messi was entitled to take the free-kick directly towards his team-mate Dembele.”
He added: “The mistake was in the way the Al-Ettifaq player took the free-kick, with the ball moving. It should have been stationary before the restart, and the referee should have paid attention to that. The video assistant referee room does not have the authority to intervene in procedural offences of this kind. However, the sending-off decision was correct because Bento denied an Al-Ettifaq player a clear goalscoring opportunity.”
Ronaldo incident
Risha also assessed an incident in the 38th minute inside the Al-Ettifaq penalty area involving Ronaldo.
The Al-Nassr forward challenged for a cross from a corner when Al-Ettifaq goalkeeper Turki Al-Jaish made illegal contact with him, according to the refereeing analyst.
Risha said an Al-Ettifaq defender had successfully reached the cross and cleared it with his head. The goalkeeper then failed to make contact with the ball before colliding with Ronaldo and bringing him down.
“An Al-Ettifaq defender managed to reach the cross and headed it away, while the goalkeeper’s attempt failed before he collided with Ronaldo and knocked him down,” Risha said.
“I believe the goalkeeper was negligent, and the video assistant referee should have called the referee to award a penalty.”
The two incidents came during a match in which Al-Nassr overcame the early setback of losing their goalkeeper to secure a notable comeback win. The result gave them victory after a contest that had turned against them in the opening stages, while the refereeing decisions remained a central talking point after the final whistle.
