Al-Nassr fans showed their support for Cristiano Ronaldo as he watched his team draw 4-4 against Al-Hazm on Thursday night.
The Portuguese superstar was serving his one-game ban for making an obscene gesture at the end of Al Nassr’s 3-2 win over Al Shabab on Sunday.
Video footage appeared to show Ronaldo cupping his ear in response to ‘Messi, Messi’ chants and repeatedly thrusting his hand forward near his pelvis, in a gesture that seemed to be aimed at Al-Shabab fans.
The 39-year-old was subsequently banned by the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee of the Saudi Arabia Football Federation and handed a 20,000 Saudi Riyals fine (£4,300).
The chants on Wednesday were more to Ronaldo’s liking as Al-Nassr fans serenaded the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star in the seventh minute of the game.
Cristiano Ronaldo responds to the fans chanting his name as he watched Al-Nassr’s 4-4 draw against Al-Hazm from the stands on Thursday night
The Portuguese was serving a one-game ban for ‘making an obscene gesture’ in Al-Nassr’s 3-2 win over Al-Shabab on Sunday
Al-Nassr fans unveiled a banner celebrating Ronaldo as ‘the world scorer’
The timing was a deliberate nod to Ronaldo’s shirt number with the Saudi club and the Portuguese responded by pumping his first towards the crowd.
The 39-year-old later celebrated what he thought was the winning goal as Sadio Mane converted a 94th minute penalty, only for Al-Nassr to concede an equaliser in the ninth minute of injury time.
Talisca had put Al-Nassr ahead from the penalty spot in the first half, before Ahmad Al-Mhemaid drew the visitors level shortly after the restart.
The reaction of Cristiano Ronaldo after his name was chanted by Al Nassr fans in the seventh minute ❤️
pic.twitter.com/EP90FugZkG— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) February 29, 2024
Al-Nassr led on four occasions against second-bottom Al-Hazm but had to settle for a draw
Ronaldo looked far from impressed as Al-Nassr gave away the lead four times
Ronaldo celebrated Sadio Mane’s 94th min penalty that looked to have sealed victory for Al-Nassr, only for his side to conceded an equaliser five minutes later
Talisca restored the hosts’ lead with 61 minutes played, before Toze levelled the score again five minutes later.
Al-Nassr retook the lead as Talisca completed his hat-trick with 20 minutes left, only for Faiz Selemani to draw the visitors level for a third time with six minutes remaining.
Mane then converted a 94th minute penalty that looked to have secured all three points for the hosts, before Paulo Ricardo equalised with effectively the last kick of the game.
احتفاليع الاسطورة pic.twitter.com/TR8msgW6HN
— كورة | Alnassr 📽️ (@BLLvid) February 29, 2024
The result leaves Al-Nassr second in the Saudi Pro League with 53 points in 22 matches, six behind Al-Hilal who have a game in hand.
Al-Hazm, meanwhile, remain second from bottom with 15 points, five adrift of safety.
Earlier this week, Ronaldo was widely criticised in Saudi Arabia by former players and commentators for his celebration on Sunday
According to reports in the Saudi Arabia media, the 39-year-old told the committee that the gesture was one of victory and common in Europe.
It is not the first time that the Portuguese star has been at the centre of controversy since joining Al-Nassr.
Last April, upon leaving the field after a game against Al-Hilal, Ronaldo appeared to grab his genitals as fans chanted Messi´s name. On that occasion, Al-Nassr said that the forward had sustained a groin injury in the match.
