Cristiano Ronaldo received a direct red card for elbowing his opponent, then he threatened to hit the referee when Al Nassr lost 1-2 to Al Hilal in the semi-finals of the Saudi Super Cup on the morning of April 9.
In the 86th minute of the match, when Al Hilal was leading 2-0, Ronaldo and midfielder Al Bulaihi had a situation of competing for the ball on the touchline. The Portuguese striker hugged the ball to prepare for a quick throw-in, but Al Hilal’s midfielder rushed to stop him because he believed that the right to throw-in belonged to Al Hilal. Ronaldo was quite upset, raised his elbow to prevent Bulaihi from stealing the ball and elbowed midfielder Al Hilal in the neck.
And Ronaldo immediately received a red card from the referee. Photo: Reuters
The referee immediately ran over, gave Ronaldo a red card and asked Ronaldo to leave the field. The Portuguese striker appeared surprised, raised his fist and rushed towards him. At that time, the referee looked in another direction so he did not see Ronaldo’s threatening actions.
Central defender Bulaihi has provoked Ronaldo many times in super classic matches between Al Nassr and Al Hilah. There were times when the midfielder pretended to fall, then stood up and ran towards Ronaldo to clap provocatively, and in this match he succeeded in making the Portuguese striker lose his temper. The 35-year-old midfielder also provoked Lionel Messi in the match that Saudi Arabia unexpectedly won 2-1 against Argentina in the opening match of the 2022 World Cup.
This is the 12th red card in Ronaldo’s career. On the way off the field, he pointed at the referee, made a “like” expression and clapped mockingly before entering the tunnel.
The 1-2 defeat against Al Hilal left Al Nassr with only one chance to win the championship in the 2023-2024 season, the King Cup. Al Nassr has entered the semi-finals and will meet Al Ittihad on April 30. For Al Hilal, a victory over Al Nassr will help them confidently advance to the super cup final and also meet Al Ittihad on April 11 for a chance to win more titles and extend their winning record, which currently stands at 33 matches. .