Saudi Football Federation denies Ronaldo goal dispute was referred to FIFA

The Saudi Football Federation has denied reports that its referees’ committee referred the controversial goal awarded to Cristiano Ronaldo in Al Nassr’s 3-1 win over Al Faisaly to FIFA.

The dispute centres on whether Ronaldo scored Al Nassr’s second goal in Friday’s Saudi Pro League match, or whether the ball went into the net after an accidental touch from Al Faisaly defender Andre Girotto.

In a statement published by the Saudi website Al-Mيدان, the federation said: “We confirm that the referees’ committee did not refer the case of Al Nassr’s goal against Al Faisaly to FIFA, and clarify that FIFA was not contacted in this regard.”

The goal was awarded to Ronaldo by match referee Abdullah Al Owaidan, taking the Portugal forward’s career tally to 982 goals.

That decision has been questioned because several international websites recorded the goal as an own goal by Al Faisaly player Andre Girotto. Ronaldo is now 18 goals short of reaching 1,000 for his career.

The Saudi Pro League’s compliance committee had already said it would not rely solely on the initial report from the main referees’ committee before determining who should officially be credited with the goal.

Tariq Kiyal, chairman of the league’s compliance committee, said the referee’s statement would be received on Monday before all the relevant reports were assessed.

“We are waiting for the referee’s report on Monday and will study all the reports. If we are satisfied with them, we will decide whether to approve or reject them, and register the goal according to the correct decision, before referring it to the league for approval,” Kiyal told Saudi newspaper Al Riyadiyah.

Kiyal declined to reveal the contents of the referees’ committee report or identify the player currently listed as the scorer.

He added that the compliance committee’s decision, once the case had been reviewed, would be final and could not be appealed. No organisation or club would have the right to reject it.

The committee was also due to meet on Monday to examine reports from the previous round of matches. Those documents include reports from media coordinators, match coordinators and stadium managers, with the aim of identifying any violations and applying the penalties set out in the regulations.

Al Nassr’s victory over Al Faisaly in round 11 lifted them to 22 points and third place in the Saudi Pro League, pending the result of the top-flight meeting between Al Qadsiah and Al Hilal.