Oman ‘wronged’ by disallowed goal against Saudi Arabia, refereeing expert says

Oman were incorrectly denied a goal in their Arabian Gulf Cup “Khaleeji 27” match against Saudi Arabia, according to former Egyptian referee Mohamed Kamal Risha.

Saudi Arabia faced Oman at Alinma Stadium in Jeddah on Saturday in the second round of the group stage.

Oman appeared to have pulled a goal back in the 36th minute when Nasser Al-Rawahi ran clear of the Saudi defence and finished past goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais.

However, the referee ruled the goal out for offside.

Risha said the decision was wrong and that Al-Rawahi had not been offside before scoring.

“If offside was the reason for cancelling Oman’s goal in the 36th minute, the decision does not appear to be correct,” Risha told Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadiyah.

“The available image does not show any suspicion of offside, and there may be another reason for the cancellation that is not visible at this stage,” he added.

The disallowed goal came when Saudi Arabia were already 3-0 ahead. Its cancellation denied Oman the opportunity to reduce the deficit.