Ronaldo goal for Al Nassr questioned by Saudi legends after Al Faisaly win

Cristiano Ronaldo’s second goal for Al Nassr in their 3-1 victory over Al Faisaly has been disputed by former Saudi Arabia internationals Sami Al-Jaber, Mohamed Noor and Hussein Abdulghani.

The Portugal forward’s effort was awarded to him by the referee, taking his career total to 982 goals, but several former stars argued that the final touch came from Al Faisaly defender Andre Girotto.

Al Nassr secured the win on Friday in the 11th round of the Saudi Professional League, maintaining their pursuit of the leaders. However, the controversy surrounding Ronaldo’s goal in the 49th minute became the main talking point after the match.

Joao Felix delivered a free-kick cross into the penalty area, which Ronaldo met with a header. The ball then struck Brazilian defender Girotto before changing direction and ending up in the net.

That deflection led to questions over whether Ronaldo’s header was already heading into the goal, or whether Girotto’s touch was decisive enough for the goal to be credited to the defender.

Speaking on the television programme “Nadeena”, former Al Hilal captain Al-Jaber said replays and slow-motion footage suggested the goal should have been given to Girotto.

“The replays and slow-motion images show that the defender Andre Girotto is the one who scored,” Al-Jaber said. “Ronaldo did not score; the goal came through the Al Faisaly defender.”

Mohamed Noor and Hussein Abdulghani also questioned whether Ronaldo should have been named as the goalscorer, agreeing that the deflection appeared to alter the ball’s path before it crossed the line.

Noor compared the incident with a disputed goal from the 2022 World Cup involving Portugal and Uruguay. Ronaldo believed he had made contact with the ball with his head, but the goal was ultimately awarded to Bruno Fernandes.

“This is similar to his goal at the 2022 World Cup, when the goal was awarded to Bruno Fernandes,” Noor said.

Despite the discussion among the former players and analysts, the match officials retained Ronaldo’s name as the scorer. The decision means the Portugal captain’s tally now stands at 982 goals.

A clip of the discussion featuring Al-Jaber and Noor was shared by the Nadeena programme on 23 October 2026.