Toney opener puts Al Ahli’s 4-1 win over Al Khaleej under VAR scrutiny

Al Ahli’s 4-1 victory over Al Khaleej in the 11th round of the Roshn Saudi League was overshadowed by a disputed opening goal scored by English forward Ivan Toney.

Toney struck in the 11th minute, but the decision to award the goal was followed by several minutes of review by the video assistant referee (VAR). Saudi referee Abdullah Al-Shahri eventually confirmed his original decision, despite claims that an Al Ahli player had interfered with play from an offside position.

There were also questions over possible physical contact between Toney and Al Khaleej defender Mohammed Khabrani during the move. Al Khaleej manager Jose Gomes objected to the decision, while the incident was also criticised by former international referee Saad Al-Kathiri, who works as a refereeing analyst for Al Jazirah newspaper.

Al-Kathiri said the goal should have been disallowed for offside. In his assessment, the Al Ahli player involved in the incident obstructed the defender and prevented him from covering the situation properly.

He argued that the offside player’s influence on the play was sufficient for the goal not to count.

Al-Shahri reached a different conclusion after reviewing the footage. The referee judged that the contact between the players was within the bounds of normal physical competition in football and stood by the decision to award the goal.

The incident therefore became a dispute between the on-field ruling and Al-Kathiri’s interpretation, combining questions over offside interference with the nature of the contact between Toney and Khabrani.

Al Ahli went on to complete a convincing victory, scoring four goals to Al Khaleej’s one. Toney scored twice, taking his total to 13 goals and moving clear at the top of the Roshn Saudi League scoring standings.