Al-Ahli ‘denied penalty’ in Al Qadsiah clash, says refereeing expert

Al-Ahli were wrongly denied a penalty during their Roshn Saudi League match against Al Qadsiah, according to former international referee and Saudi newspaper Al Jazirah refereeing analyst Saad Al Kathiri.

The incident occurred during Al-Ahli’s visit to Al Qadsiah at Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam on Tuesday, in the sixth round of the competition.

With Al-Ahli trailing 1-0, Brazilian winger Galeno went down inside the Al Qadsiah penalty area after an attempted challenge from defender Jihad Zakri. Al-Ahli players immediately appealed for a spot-kick, but the referee waved play on.

A video of the incident showed Galeno falling as the visitors called for a penalty, prompting discussion over whether the challenge should have resulted in a decision against Al Qadsiah.

Al Kathiri said the referee had made the wrong call and that the video assistant referee should have intervened.

“Penalty for Al-Ahli’s attacker in the 18th minute was not awarded by the referee, and the video assistant referee should have intervened,” Al Kathiri said.

He later explained that the Al Qadsiah defender had impeded the attacker inside the penalty area and had failed to play the ball.

“The Al Qadsiah defender impeded the attacker inside the penalty area and was not successful in playing the ball,” he added.

The timing of the incident was described as the 17th minute in the match report, while Al Kathiri referred to it as occurring in the 18th minute. In either case, the decision came while Al-Ahli were already behind and seeking a route back into the match.

The former international referee’s assessment was shared in connection with footage of the incident, with the key question being whether the contact from Zakri was sufficient to warrant a penalty. Al Kathiri’s view was that it was, and that the VAR official should have asked the referee to review the decision.

Al-Ahli’s position became more difficult before the interval. They went into half-time 3-0 down, having been unable to reduce the deficit after the penalty appeal was rejected.

The analysis has since fuelled debate among supporters and followers of the Roshn Saudi League, with the incident becoming one of the main talking points from the first half of the fixture.

The match was being played as part of the sixth round of the Saudi competition, with Al-Ahli the away side at Al Qadsiah’s Dammam venue. The disputed challenge involved Galeno, who was attempting to make an impact in the attacking area when he fell under the challenge from Zakri.

The issue was also presented for further discussion on Kooora forums, alongside information about purchasing tickets for Roshn Saudi League matches.