Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr goal debate revives controversial Mitrovic ruling

Cristiano Ronaldo’s disputed goal for Al-Nassr has brought back memories of a similar decision involving former Al-Hilal striker Aleksandar Mitrovic in the Roshn Saudi League.

Al-Nassr beat Al-Faisaly 3-1 at Al Majma’ah Sports City on Friday in the 11th round of the competition, with Ronaldo scoring his side’s second goal in the 49th minute.

The Portugal forward headed Joao Felix’s free-kick delivery into the net to extend Al-Nassr’s lead. However, some users on social media argued that the ball had crossed the line after striking Al-Faisaly defender Andre Girotto, making it an own goal rather than one for Ronaldo.

The debate has drawn comparisons with an incident from the 2024-2025 season involving Mitrovic, who was playing for Al-Hilal at the time.

On 14 September 2024, Al-Hilal defeated Al-Riyadh 3-0 at Prince Turki bin Abdulaziz Stadium in the Saudi capital during the third round of the Roshn Saudi League. Mitrovic scored twice, while Salem Al-Dawsari also found the net.

Mitrovic was initially credited with Al-Hilal’s second goal. But 16 days later, on 30 September 2024, the Saudi Pro League announced that the goal had been reassigned to Al-Riyadh defender Juanpe.

The league said technical reports and television replays had shown that the ball had struck the defender before entering the goal. As a result, the goal was removed from Mitrovic’s tally and recorded as an own goal by Juanpe.

The decision angered many Al-Hilal supporters, particularly because Mitrovic was competing with Ronaldo for the Roshn Saudi League’s top-scorer award. The Serbian striker’s total was affected by the ruling, while Ronaldo ultimately claimed the prize in the previous season.

Ronaldo also finished as the league’s leading scorer this season, registering 25 goals. He ended the campaign two goals ahead of English forward Ivan Toney, who finished second with Al-Ahli.

Mitrovic, meanwhile, was unable to remain in contention for the scoring award because of injuries.

Unlike the Mitrovic incident, the source does not indicate that the league has made any official change to Ronaldo’s goal from Al-Nassr’s victory over Al-Faisaly.