Cristiano Ronaldo, known for his ruthless skills in front of the goal, made headlines on Monday with a noble act on the field. During a match between his team Al-Nassr and Persepolis in the Asian Champions League, Ronaldo convinced the referee to reverse his own penalty decision, leaving social media fans stunned. The Portuguese footballer fell in the penalty box, leading the referee to award a penalty to his Saudi Arabian club. However, Ronaldo immediately approached the official and asked him to cancel the decision.
Al Nassr had a penalty claim denied after Ronaldo appeared to have been tripped in the visitors’ area. However, the Portugal forward admitted to the referee that it was not a foul, and after consulting VAR, the official decided to cancel the penalty.
In the second half, Persepolis, two-time runners-up, had a goal disallowed, while Ronaldo missed a scoring opportunity by shooting wide inside the Persepolis penalty area.
During the match, the Nassr captain, aged 38, seemed to have injured his neck when Beiranvand landed on him while claiming a high ball. Ronaldo was substituted in the 77th minute, seemingly experiencing discomfort.
Nassr will face their arch-rivals Al Hilal in a top-of-the-table clash in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
Despite the goalless draw against the Iranian club, Ronaldo’s Al Nassr secured their place in the Asian Champions League knockout stage. The Saudi Arabian side, which had won all four Group E matches prior to the encounter in Riyadh, only needed a point at Al Awwal Park to advance to the last 16.
Nassr achieved that, although they played the majority of the match with 10 men.
(Note: This news article has been rewritten and shortened, and the image and Twitter embed have been removed.)
