Cristiano Ronaldo was at the centre of debate among supporters in Al-Nassr’s 4-0 victory over Al-Raed after he was left angry having not been given a penalty.
He reacted furiously after he was brought down inside the penalty area and told to get back up by the official.
To even make matters worse for Ronaldo, the incident was reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee and the decision to play on was not overturned.
Ronaldo threw his arms up in frustration and appeared in disbelief as he was left stunned a penalty was not awarded.
Fortunately it made little difference to the outcome of the game as Al-Nassr ran out comfortable winners to keep pressure on Al-Ittihad at the top of the table.
Footage of the incident posted on social media sparked a split of opinion with fans either defending Ronaldo, or accusing him of going to ground too easily. The first reply to footage of the penalty incident reads: “Clear penalty”, followed by a laughing emoji.
It was echoed by another fan who said: “Disgrace of a decision.. HOW ARE THESE PEOPLE IN CHARGE.”
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Yet not everyone agreed, with another disagreeing and writing: “Never a penalty, great dive!”, while another supporter used the moment as a chance to praise Lionel Messi.
They wrote: “One of the few good things about Messi. He doesn’t dive. Literally every other footballer does it so can’t blame Ronaldo. But credit where credits due.”
The former Manchester United star also slammed his own coaching staff recently during the defeat by Al-Wehda in the King Cup of Champions semi-final.
There has been speculations suggesting Ronaldo played a major part in the sacking of Rudi Garcia, the manager was in charge for less than 10 months before he was dismissed from his post.
