The goal credited to Cristiano Ronaldo against Al-Faisaly has entered a new review phase after the Saudi Pro League’s Compliance Committee declined to rely solely on the Referees Committee report to determine the scorer’s identity.
Tariq Kayal, head of the committee, revealed in statements to Al-Riyadiyah newspaper that the file will be studied based on available match reports and an official statement from match referee Abdullah Al-Owaidan.
“We are awaiting the referee’s statement on Monday, and we will review all reports. If we are convinced, we will decide to uphold or reject it, and attribute the goal according to the correct decision,” Kayal said.
The controversy surrounds a match in which Al-Nassr defeated Al-Faisaly 3-1 in the eleventh round, with debate splitting over whether one of the goals should be credited to Ronaldo or registered as an own goal by Brazilian defender Andrei Girotto.
The goal had originally been credited to the Al-Nassr captain in the referee’s match report, according to published accounts, elevating his career tally to 982 goals—leaving him just 18 goals shy of the 1,000-goal milestone.
The disputed sequence occurred in the 49th minute following a free kick taken by João Félix, triggering disagreement over the final touch required to officially attribute the goal.
Kayal declined to disclose the contents of the Referees Committee report, confirming that the Compliance Committee’s final verdict following the review will be conclusive and non-appealable before being submitted to the League for official adoption.
Consequently, confirming the goal in Ronaldo’s name remains tied to the outcome of the review; validating it maintains his tally at 982, whereas reclassifying it as an own goal would reduce his overall count by one, without affecting Al-Nassr’s match victory.
