Portuguese and Al Nassr Football Club forward,Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for violent conduct in his team’s painful 2-1 loss to dominant rival, Al Hilal on Monday night.
The Portuguese was sent off in the closing stages of the match after been adjudged to have elbowed and stamped on Al-Hilal’s Ali Al-Bulaihi during a confrontation between both players over a referee decision.
Before the confrontation took place, Al Hilal had raced to a 2-0 lead with two second half goals scored by Al Dawsari and Malcolm and Al Nassr were heading towards a semi-final exit from the Saudi Super Cup.
After the confrontation, Ronaldo was adjudged to have successfully landed his elbow on the chest and neck of Al-Bulaihi before stamping on him when the Al Hilal man fell to the ground.
His actions created a tense situation in the stadium as players from both teams go after one another. While Al Hilal players registered their discontentment with Cristiano Ronaldo’s actions, Al Nassr players tried to protect Ronaldo and calm the situation.
A section of Al Hilal supporters were heading chanting “Messi Messi Messi” to taunt the Portuguese forward which further heat up the atmosphere inside the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
After consultations with his assistant, the centre referee, Al Hoaish showed Ronaldo a straight red card which further angered the Portuguese. Ronaldo reacted by raising his hand in a manner that suggested that he could have landed a blow on the referee face.
Peace was soon restored and the match continued. Senegal forward, Sadio Mane scored nine minutes into injury time to alter the scoreline. It was however too late for Al Nassr as they crash out of the competition against a rival that have tormented them all season long.
Al Hilal will head into the final match as huge favourite to win the Saudi Super Cup. They will be going up against Karim Benzema led Al Ittihad who secured their place in the final with a 2-1 win over Odion Ighalo’s Al Wehda.
