VAR review fails to settle controversy over Ivan Toney goal in Al Ahli win

Al Ahli’s 4-1 victory over Al Khaleej in the 11th round of the Saudi Pro League was overshadowed by a disputed opening goal scored by England forward Ivan Toney.

Toney put Al Ahli ahead in the 11th minute, but the goal prompted immediate objections from the Al Khaleej players and coaching staff. The incident was then reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for several minutes before Saudi referee Abdullah Al-Shahri confirmed the original decision.

The debate centred on two elements of the move. One Al Ahli player appeared to be in an offside position and was accused of interfering with the play, while Toney was also involved in a physical challenge with Al Khaleej defender Mohammed Khabrani.

Al Khaleej manager Jose Gomes protested against the decision, while former international referee Saad Al-Kathiri also criticised the outcome in his refereeing analysis for Al Jazirah newspaper.

Al-Kathiri said the goal should have been disallowed for offside, arguing that the Al Ahli player in the position had obstructed Khabrani and prevented him from covering the situation properly.

In his assessment, that involvement was sufficient to influence the play and meant the goal should not have stood.

However, after reviewing the footage on the VAR monitor, Al-Shahri concluded that the contact between Toney and Khabrani amounted to normal physical competition in football. He therefore retained his on-field decision and awarded the goal to Al Ahli.

The incident became the main point of disagreement between the referee’s interpretation and Al-Kathiri’s analysis, with the decision involving both a possible offside offence and questions over the nature of the physical contact.

Al Ahli went on to complete a convincing 4-1 victory. Toney scored twice in the match, taking his tally to 13 goals and moving to the top of the Saudi Pro League scoring standings.