Cristiano Ronaldo should have kept his hands away from his pelvic area.
The world soccer star was suspended for one match for Al Nasr’s next match for indecent behavior.
He will also pay a fine of 20,000 Saudi riyals ($5,333) to al-Shabab, and more than half of that to the Saudi Football Federation.
There were chants of “Messi” during Al Nasr’s victory on Sunday. @TF_video/X
Ronaldo will not play in Thursday’s match against Alhasm.
All of this stems from the vile act Ronaldo committed against Al-Shabaab fans after Al-Nasr defeated Al-Shabaab on Sunday.
Footage taken by a fan showed Ronaldo cupping his ears and making a gesture that appeared to be pushing up his crotch area with his hand.
He appeared to be responding to fans shouting “Messi” in reference to Ronaldo’s soccer rival Lionel Messi.
The gesture caused a stir in Saudi Arabia, prompting SAFF’s Discipline and Ethics Committee to launch an investigation. The punishment was finally handed down early Thursday morning (Saudi Arabia time) in the Middle Eastern country.
This decision is not subject to appeal.
Ronaldo broke his silence about the incident on Wednesday.
“I respect all clubs,” Ronaldo said. According to the Daily Mail. “And the joy after it’s over is… [game] It represents strength and victory, and it’s not something to be ashamed of. We are used to it in Europe. ”
According to reports from Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo said the same thing when he met with the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee.
Ronaldo has scored 34 goals in 25 appearances for Al Nasr this season.
In April 2023, Ronaldo was involved in another incident in which he made an obscene gesture to an opposing fan by grabbing his crotch while leaving the field during a match against Al Hilal.
At a match earlier this year, an Al Hilal fan once again threw a scarf at Ronaldo, who rubbed it into his pants and threw it away.
