Saudi League Players Accuse Refs of Fixing Games to Help Ronaldo’s Team Win Championship

Grzegorz Wajda/AP

Multiple players in the Saudi Pro League have accused referees of fixing games in an effort to help Cristiano Ronaldo’s team win a championship.

The controversy stemmed from Wednesday’s match between Al Ahli and Al Fayha. Going into the match, Al Ahli trailed Al Nassr — Ronaldo’s club — by just a few points in the standings. Unfortunately for Al Ahli, the 1-1 draw against Al Fayha resulted in that gap extending. At the time of writing, Al Nassr maintained its lead in the league and was in position to win its first championship since Ronaldo joined.

Multiple players from Al Ahli, however, took issue with the way Wednesday’s match was officiated. Striker Ivan Toney criticized the refs for not calling a handball against Al Fayha. When Toney complained, he claimed one of the refs told him to “focus on the AFC,” referring to the Asian Champions League.

“How can the referee say this?” Toney said after the match. “We’re talking about now! He’s saying, ‘Focus on the AFC.'”

Toney later took to Instagram to continue voicing his frustrations, adding that “it’s clear what’s being influenced.”

Brazilian winger Galeno, Toney’s teammate, also accused the league of corruption. In a tweet translated from Portuguese, he said:

Hand over the trophy, that’s what they want, they want to knock us out of the championship by any means necessary, they want to hand the trophy to one person, a total lack of respect for our club.

The performance from the refs caused such a stir that Al Ahli released an official statement on it. That statement read:

AL AHLI CLUB COMPANY EXPRESSES ITS DEEP DISSATISFACTION WITH THE REFEREEING ERRORS THAT AFFECTED TODAY’S MATCH OF THE FIRST FOOTBALL TEAM AGAINST AL FAYHA IN ROUND 29 OF THE SAUDI ROSHN LEAGUE. THE REFEREE’S DECISIONS HAD A DIRECT IMPACT ON THE FLOW OF THE GAME AND ITS FINAL OUTCOME, WHICH IN TURN AFFECTED THE TEAM’S POSITION IN THE TITLE RACE.

SUCH ERRORS RAISE LEGITIMATE CONCERNS REGARDING THE REFEREE SELECTION PROCESS AND THE CRITERIA APPLIED, PARTICULARLY GIVEN THE HIGH TECHNICAL AND COMPETITIVE LEVEL OF THE SAUDI ROSHN LEAGUE. THE TEAM HAS FACED UNFAIR REFEREEING DECISIONS, AN UNACCEPTABLE SITUATION THAT NEITHER SERVES THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPETITION NOR UPHOLDS THE PRINCIPLE OF COMPETITIVE FAIRNESS, WHICH MUST BE THE FOUNDATION OF ANY SUCCESSFUL TOURNAMENT. AL-AHLI CLUB COMPANY CALLS FOR ACCESS TO THE RECORDINGS AND COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE REFEREES AND THE VIDEO ASSISTANT REFEREE (VAR), AS WELL AS THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH THE TEAM’S PLAYERS DURING THE MATCH. IT ALSO REQUESTS CLEAR EXPLANATIONS FOR ALL REFEREEING INCIDENTS WHERE DECISIONS WERE NOT CORRECTLY MADE.

IN CLOSING, AL AHLI CLUB COMPANY REAFFIRMS ITS CONFIDENCE IN THE COMMITMENT OF THE RELEVANT AUTHORITIES TO SAFEGUARDING THE INTEGRITY OF THE COMPETITION AND TAKING THE NECESSARY PRACTICAL STEPS THAT REFLECT THE HIGH STANDING THE SAUDI ROSHN LEAGUE HAS REACHED.

—

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!