Legal sources have confirmed that Al-Ahli Jeddah duo Ivan Toney (England) and Galeno (Brazil) will not be suspended for their post-match criticism of the refereeing in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Al-Fayha.
On Wednesday at Al-Majma’ah Sports City Stadium, Al-Ahli were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Fayha in Matchday 29 of the Roshen League.
After the match, both players launched a fierce verbal attack on the referee, claiming that the fourth official had told them to focus solely on the AFC Champions League rather than the domestic league—a claim later endorsed by their German coach, Matthias Jaissle.
However, press reports state that the Referees’ Committee reviewed the match officials’ audio recordings and found no evidence to support those claims, leaving the players exposed to disciplinary action.
Legal expert Ahmed Al-Sheikhi told the “Nadina” programme that the players will not be banned and that any punishment will be financial only, pointing to similar previous cases.
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He pointed to previous cases, such as Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus’s comments about Al-Hilal’s political influence, which drew a 30,000-riyal fine for stirring public opinion.
He added: “Similarly, Al-Hilal issued a statement against the Referees’ Committee and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, describing the refereeing errors as suspicious. The committee deemed this to be an insult to public opinion and fined the club 80,000 riyals.”
He added that Al-Ittihad’s Dominguez Suarez was fined 20,000 riyals, and that Hamed Al-Balawi faced a similar penalty earlier.
He concluded, “Based on these precedents, we can expect similar penalties for the Al-Ahli players: purely financial fines and no suspensions.”
He added: "As for Al-Ahly’s statement, no sanctions are expected, given the large number of similar statements issued this season regarding refereeing that have gone unpunished."