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Cristiano Ronaldo rages three-word accusation at ref after Al-Nassr goal ruled out by VAR
Cristiano Ronaldo was left seething with the referee after seeing his latest goal for Al-Nassr chalked off.
Cristiano Ronaldo launched a furious three-word rant at the referee during Al-Nassr's game with Al-Shabab after the former Manchester United superstar saw his goal disallowed on Wednesday. The Portuguese striker had already found the back of the net from the penalty spot before he doubled his tally, but an intervention from the Saudi official and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) denied him a double.
The 38-year-old found himself free inside the box after a corner from Marcelo Brozovic and the veteran showed he still has a lot of life in his legs, springing himself high before steering his header into the top corner.
Ronaldo had already performed his trademark 'siu' celebration in the corner with the delighted Al-Nassr fans. But complaints from Al-Shabab proved to be enough to force VAR officials to take a look - and the referee opted to disallow the goal.
The Portuguese was left incensed with the decision and gestured furiously in the direction of the officials, screaming at them with his frustration entirely evident.
Ronaldo could be audibly heard on the pitchside microphone shouting: "Always against me!", appearing to suggest that referees in Saudi Arabia are too harsh on him.
In this particular case, he may have had a point. When preparing to jump for the ball, two Al-Shabab defenders collided with each other and the only contact with the Portuguese icon was a minor brush between them.
But the referee decided it was enough to send them off balance and the goal was not allowed to stand.
If anything, the perceived injustice only spurred Ronaldo on. He looked a man in the mood to score and he got the chance to get that elusive second goal when he was shoved inside the box by Gustavo Cuellar.
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This time, the officials were on his side and pointed to the spot. Ronaldo picked himself off the floor and coolly slotted home again to put himself on course for a hat-trick.
He then turned provider to make it 3-0, unselfishly squaring the ball for ex-Liverpool man Sadio Mane to squeeze home on the stretch.
And when Ronaldo did have the chance to seal his hat-trick in the second half, he took many by surprise when he gave one of his team-mates the chance to score from the spot.
However, his team-mate Abdulrahman Ghareeb's effort was saved by the Al-Shabab stopper and while Ronaldo didn't react, the crowd booed loudly as they wanted to see him seal a hat-trick of penalties.