Cristiano Ronaldo scored a freak goal on Friday as Al-Nassr beat Al-Ahli, but the goal shouldn’t have counted.
Al-Nassr enjoyed an exciting 4-3 win over Al-Ahli on Friday, but it has now been suggested that the first goal Ronaldo scored, should have been ruled out.
This has resulted in discussions on the goal’s validity, due to Edouard Mendy being unsighted for the goal.
Pyrotechnics in the crowd left a thick cloud of smoke in Mendy’s goalmouth, it was so strong that the TV cameras couldn’t see the net.
Ronaldo however racing through is no stranger to where the goal is, and still managed to score, Mandy likely didn’t see the ball until very late which explains the late dive.
What the laws say
The goal is controversial and according to IFAB’s Laws of the Game, the referee should at the very least have disallowed the goal.
Above this he probably should have halted the match if he was following the rules properly.
Referees have that power to halt, suspend or abandon matches in the case of outside interference, which is what the smoke was.
According to The Express, guidance that referees recieve is that matches should be halted if said interference unfairly impacts a player.
Given how poor visibility was, it is safe to assume Mendy was unfairly impacted, as much as we would have liked the goal to be justified.
Ronaldo obviously scored a second but ultimately the controversial goal was a winner, much to the delight of Al-Nassr and the misery of Al-Ahli.