Cristiano Ronaldo's honesty helped to nullify a penalty he was awarded as his 10-man Al-Nassr side was held to a goalless draw by Persepolis of Iran in the Asian Champions League.
Ronaldo went down in the box in the opening moments on Monday and the referee pointed to the spot, but Ronaldo joined Persepolis players in disputing the penalty. Referee Ma Ning checked the pitchside monitor and overturned his decision.
Al-Nassr defender Ali Lajimi was sent off in the half for a dangerous challenge on Milad Sarlak, and Ronaldo gave his Saudi Arabia team a late scare when he exited with a neck injury.
Cristiano Ronaldo waved off his own penalty against Persepolis, telling the referee himself he didn't believe it was a foul. 👀
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 27, 2023
Not something you see every day in football. 👏 pic.twitter.com/do8L58tFYJ
But Al-Nassr had already qualified for the knockout stages as the Group E winner and advanced unbeaten. The Riyadh team came into the game having won 18 of its previous 19 games in all competitions.
The top team from each of the 10 groups of four in the tournament, which is divided into two geographic halves until the final, advances to the round of 16 along with the six best-placed runners-up.
