Ronaldo refused a penalty kick in the Al Nassr match against Persepolis in the AFC Champions League group stage on the morning of November 28.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance to score from the penalty spot in the Al Nassr match against Persepolis, but the Portuguese superstar surprised him by asking the referee to cancel the decision. The situation happened in the 2nd minute, player Soroush Rafiei blocked the ball and then collided, causing Cristiano Ronaldo to fall to the field. Referee Ma Ning immediately blew the whistle and pointed to the penalty spot for Al Nassr.

While the away team player was complaining to the referee, Ronaldo approached, gestured and told Mr. Ma Ning that it was not a foul. To be more certain, the Chinese referee went out onto the field to review the slowdown video. Rafiei had an impact on Ronaldo but not enough to lead to a penalty. Mr. Ma Ning returned to the field and reversed the previous decision.

Ronaldo signaled that he had not been fouled.

Al Nassr was in a good position, but the incident happened in the 17th minute, when Ali Lajami received a direct red card after stepping on his opponent’s foot with the bottom of his shoe. With 10 people, Ronaldo and his teammates still played with determination. The capital city of Riyadh had only one notable opportunity against their Iranian opponent, which was Ronaldo’s shot at the beginning of the second half. 

Under pressure from Persepolis, Al Nassr’s defense made a few mistakes, notably a clumsy handling situation that resulted in losing the ball right in front of Aymeric Laporte’s penalty area in the 62nd minute. Luckily, his teammates were able to retreat. to cover for the former Manchester City star.

In the 78th minute, coach Luis Castro took Ronaldo off to rest for the match against Al Hilal at the weekend. This is the important match, because it will directly affect the Saudi Pro League championship race this season. Al Hilal is leading the rankings with 38 points, 4 points more than Al Nassr. Ronaldo seemed to be in slight pain, he went straight into the tunnel with a rather grim expression on his face, instead of returning to the bench. 

The match at Al-Awwal Park ended with a 0-0 draw. One point is enough for Al Nassr to definitely finish the AFC Champions League group stage with the leading position. Ronaldo and his teammates are 5 points ahead of Persepolis, with only one match remaining in the group stage.