Cristiano's team failed to reach the final of the Saudi Arabian Super Cup.
Al-Nasr star forward Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off in the Saudi Arabian Super Cup semi-final against Al-Hilal.
The incident occurred at the end of the match with the score 2:0 in favor of Al-Hilal. The Portuguese tried to quickly throw the ball out of touch and pushed his opponent with his elbow, after which he fell onto the lawn.
¡Cristiano Ronaldo es expulsado! Y CR7 no amaga todo su enfado con l'àrbitre. #SSCenFOX pic.twitter.com/OCwbillPj5
— FOX Deportes (@FOXDeportes) April 8, 2024
Cristiano Ronaldo ha lost the plot hasn't he pic.twitter.com/xxmRTWVJV0
— EPL Bible (@EPLBible) August 9, 2024
For such behavior, the referee punished Ronaldo with a red card. This angered Cristiano even more, who even swung his fist at the referee.
AL HILAL REFEREE SEND OFF RONALDO.
pic.twitter.com/gTTiYAPtcj
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) August 8, 2024
After the Portuguese was sent off, Al-Nasr, short-handed, reduced the gap thanks to a goal from Sadio Mane, but failed to score again and send the game into extra time. The match ended in the defeat of Ronaldo's team with a score of 1:2.
Al-Nasr head coach Luis Castro commented on the episode with Ronaldo's red card. He believes that his player was sent off unfairly.
“It is difficult to talk about the incident in which Ronaldo received a red card. We have seen moments earlier in the season when Cristiano was provoked. And after watching some footage, I think that Ronaldo did not deserved to be sent off, the opponent “played.” There was little contact between them,” Castro is quoted as saying by Goal.com.
Note that this season Ronaldo played 37 matches for Al-Nasr in all tournaments, scored 36 goals and made 12 assists.
Al-Hilal reached the final of the Saudi Arabian Super Cup, where they will compete for the trophy with Al-Ittihad, for which former Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema plays.