Cristiano Ronaldo avoids red card for ‘body slam’ on opponent in Al-Nassr loss
Cristiano Ronaldo incredibly avoided a red card despite yanking an opponent to the floor with his neck.
The Manchester United and Real Madrid icon was in action for Al-Nassr against title rivals Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday night. Al-Nassr lost the game 2-0 to fall three points behind leaders Al-Ittihad.
It was a bad night all-round for Ronaldo, who was targeted with chants about his great rival Lionel Messi during the match from a section of fans. But it could – and arguably should – have been worse following a dreadful-looking foul in the early stages of the second half.
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With Al-Hilal’s Gustavo Cuellar under a high ball, Ronaldo, whose eyes were on the man only, took out his opponent by jumping on his back, grabbing him around the neck and hauling him to the floor. Some fans described it as a body slam wrestling move and Al-Hilal players surrounded referee Michael Oliver imploring him to take firm action.
However, to the surprise of many, the Premier League official, who had been flown in to take charge of the big match, only brandished a yellow card.
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One fan joked: “Where's the edit with the music of John Cena?” Another said: “Looks like WWE.”
A few tried to defend Ronaldo’s move, with one saying: “It's wrong, but the ball was travelling high and would fall further, Cuellar went straight to CR7's body when he went towards the ball to dispute [the ball], if he doesn't do that the referee should whistle a foul by Cuellar.”
In another controversial incident, Ronaldo was spotted making a crude gesture as he left the pitch to shouts of Messi, with the 38-year-old appearing to grab his crotch.
Up next for Ronaldo, who scored 11 goals across his 13 games for the club in all competitions, is the King Cup of Champions semi-final against Al-Wehda on Monday.
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