Watkins questions disallowed goal despite Al Hilal’s victory over Al Ittihad

Ollie Watkins voiced his frustration with referee Khalid Al-Taris after Al Hilal beat Al Ittihad 3-2 in the Roshn Saudi League classic.

The two sides met at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Saturday in the eighth round of the competition, with Al Hilal claiming three points in a match between the teams competing for top spot.

Watkins scored Al Hilal’s second goal in the 30th minute after a mistake by Portuguese defender Danilo Pereira. The England striker also set up the opening and third goals, which were scored by Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli and Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville respectively.

Speaking to Thmanyah channels after the final whistle, Watkins described the contest as a high-quality game following the recent international break.

“It was a high-level match, especially because we had just returned from the international break,” he said. “We had trained for several days, but nothing compares with playing a match at full intensity.”

He added: “It was a game for first place, and you could see how important it was to everyone. There was a lot of noise and celebration, but the most important thing is that we took the three points, and I’m very happy.”

Watkins explained that his assist for Martinelli’s goal came from an attempt to reach the byline and cut the ball back into the area.

“I was trying to get to the goal line and pull the ball back,” he said. “I didn’t know he [Martinelli] was there, but I just played it into an area I thought was suitable.”

The forward said he took advantage of Danilo Pereira’s hesitation for his own goal.

“Ruben [Neves] is always looking for an opportunity to deliver a cross,” Watkins said. “I moved in front of him [Danilo Pereira] because I noticed that he had taken too long to react, and I punished him for the mistake he made.”

Watkins also believed he had scored a second goal shortly before half-time, but it was ruled out because the ball was judged to have touched his hand before entering the net.

“Honestly, I scored another goal, but unfortunately it was disallowed,” he said. “I know it was a difficult decision, and I won’t comment on it, but I felt it was a valid goal.”

The comments were made to reporter Khalid Al-Arafa of Thmanyah after the 3-2 win on 10 October 2026.