Refereeing expert Mohamed Kamal Risha gave his opinion on the refereeing incidents in the match between Al-Nassr and Al-Ettifaq, played tonight in the Saudi Roshn League.
Al-Nassr overturned a two-goal deficit against hosts Al-Ettifaq to secure a thrilling 3-2 win, after playing with ten men since the 12th minute, in a dramatic clash within the third round of the Saudi Roshn League.
Al-Alami faced a tough test following the sending off of their goalkeeper Bento. They rallied in the second half to complete a historic comeback, escaping the trap set by their own goalkeeper and walking away with the three points.
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Egyptian analyst Mohamed Kamal Risha, the refereeing expert for the "Al-Riyadiyah" newspaper, confirmed there was an error in the taking of the free kick that ended with the sending off of Brazilian Bento Matheus, Al-Nassr's goalkeeper.
Referee Mohammed Al-Huwaish awarded a foul on Salem Al-Najdi, Al-Nassr's left-back. Rayan Messi, Al-Ettifaq's winger, took it quickly towards his teammate Moussa Dembélé, who got ahead of the Al-Ettifaq defence and went through on his own before Bento brought him down on the edge of the penalty area. The referee sent off the Brazilian goalkeeper with a straight red card in the 12th minute.
On the taking of the foul, Risha said: "Had Al-Huwaish stopped play to show the yellow card to Al-Najdi, the Al-Ettifaq player would not have been allowed to resume play quickly, but the referee did not do so, so Messi had the right to take the foul directly towards his teammate Dembélé."
He added: "The error was in the Al-Ettifaq player taking the foul while the ball was in motion, when it should have been settled before resuming, and the referee should have paid attention to that. Meanwhile, the video technology room does not have the authority to intervene in such procedural offences, while the sending-off decision is correct for the Al-Ettifaq player Bento denying a clear goalscoring opportunity."
Risha also pointed to another incident in the 38th minute inside Al-Ettifaq's penalty area, where Turki Baljoush, the Eastern side's goalkeeper, intervened in an illegal manner on Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo while the pair competed for a cross from a corner kick.
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The analyst explained the incident, saying: "The Al-Ettifaq defender managed to reach the crossed ball and cleared it with his head, while the goalkeeper's attempt failed and he then collided with Ronaldo and knocked him down. I see negligence on the part of the goalkeeper, and the video technology should have called the referee to award a penalty kick."