Former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy believes Cristiano Ronaldo’s controversial strike for Al-Nassr should have been disallowed.
Mendy had completed a permanent move away from Stamford Bridge in the summer to join Jeddah giants Al-Ahli for a reported fee of £16 million.
The Senegalese shot-stopper instantly became an integral part of Matthias Jaissle’s squad having started between the sticks in all of their games this season.
Despite their form, Al-Ahli suffered their second defeat of the campaign losing 4-3 against in-form Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League’s seventh round.
Goals from Anderson Talisca and Cristiano Ronaldo helped Al-Nassr secure three points but it was the latter, who sparked controversy after the game.
Ronaldo had scored the opening goal of the game in unusual circumstances as Mendy was unsighted by the smoke engulfing the stadium from the flares lit by fans in attendance.
The 38-year-old’s strike left fans and pundits puzzled as the goal stood without any intervention from VAR as Mendy expressed his frustration with the decision.
“I think we had a bad start and we gave the ball away unnecessarily so many times and we paid for it,” Mendy told SSC Sports.
“We had good spells where we bounced back, showed our qualities and deserved to score but I think the referee made some tough decisions.
“There was so much smoke from the fireworks, I couldn’t see anything. It was a strange decision but we respected that and tried to get back in the game.
“When you play against such a strong team, you can’t make such defensive mistakes and today we paid the price and conceded so many goals,” he added.