Ronaldo goal disputed: Opta records Al-Nassr strike as an own goal

A Cristiano Ronaldo goal in a Saudi league match has sparked a dispute: the Al-Nassr player celebrated a goal in the 49th minute, but statisticians believe it was an own goal by the opposition. The league credited the goal to Ronaldo; the data company Opta did not.

The moment came after a free kick from his compatriot João Félix. Ronaldo jumped higher than everyone else and the ball ended up in the net. However, the last player to touch the ball was the home side’s defender Andrei Girotto. Many social media users also claim that Ronaldo never touched the ball at all.

The Saudi Pro League credited the goal to Ronaldo, noting that he is now 18 goals short of a significant milestone. According to local media, the head referee did the same in the official match report.

The statistics company Opta rated the incident as an own goal. The key question is whether Ronaldo’s head was heading towards the goal before Girotto changed the ball’s trajectory.

After the match, the 41-year-old Portuguese posted a photo on Instagram of himself celebrating the goal, captioned “Let’s go”. He clearly has no doubt that the goal will not be taken away from him.

The controversial incident will be discussed for some time. It came three days after Ronaldo missed a penalty in a league match against Neom and, early in the second half, missed an open goal from three metres. All the more reason for him to fight for credit for the goal against Al-Faisaly.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz