One of the most ruthless footballers in front of the goal, Cristiano Ronaldo won the internet with his noble act on the field on Monday. With his side Al-Nassr up against Persepolis in the Asian Champions League, Ronaldo convinced the referee to wave off his own penalty decision, leaving fans on social media stunned. The Portuguese footballer went down in the penalty box, prompting the referee to award a penalty to his Saudi Arabian club. But, Ronaldo immediately went to the official and asked him to reverse his decision.
Al Nassr had a claim for a penalty denied after Ronaldo looked to have been tripped in the visitors’ area. However, the Portugal forward admitted to the referee that it was not foul, with the official deciding to cancel the penalty after consulting VAR.
— FanCode (@FanCode) November 27, 2023
Persepolis, two-time runners-up, did have a goal disallowed at the start of the second half, while Ronaldo later turned sharply inside the Persepolis penalty area but fired his low shot wide.
The Nassr captain, 38, had appeared to injure his neck at the beginning of the second half after Beiranvand landed on him when coming to claim a high ball.
Ronaldo was withdrawn on 77 minutes seemingly experiencing some discomfort.
Nassr face arch-rivals Al Hilal on Friday in a top-of-the-table clash in the Saudi Pro League.
Despite the goalless draw against the Iranian club, Ronaldo’s Al Nassr booked their place in the Asian Champions League knockout stage. The Saudi Arabian side, which had won all four Group E matches going into the encounter in Riyadh, needed only a point at Al Awwal Park to advance to the last 16.
Nassr got just that, although they played the majority of the match with 10 men.
With AFP inputs
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