While Cristiano Ronaldo thinks the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund [PIF] are biased towards Al Hilal, he’s now facing accusations at his own team.
Ronaldo sulked out of Nassr’s 2-0 Saudi Pro League win over Al Ittihad that kept them within touching distance of Hilal.
The Portugal captain is reportedly furious at the PIF backing Hilal with €70million in the January window and Nassr virtually zero, despite having majority stakes in both teams.
Yet Ittihad, another of those owned by the PIF, think there’s another conspiracy in refereeing.
Speaking after the defeat, head coach Sergio Conceicao said: “I have nothing to say to the refereeing committee.
“Look what happened today. I’m talking about facts.
“Two similar teams competed, and these kinds of events end up changing the course of games. You saw what happened.
“A clear penalty on Simakan at the beginning of the game that would have changed everything, and another clear one at the end.
“Unfortunately, the refereeing changed the course of the game.”
Conceicao is known for spicy comments, but on this occasion he wasn’t alone.
Former Liverpool man Fabinho added: “I can’t understand the referee’s decision on the penalty.
“The same situation happened to us and it wasn’t given. And to Al Nassr, something similar, they have the penalty in their favour.
“In their case, it took him two seconds to award it. In our case, he watched the play for two minutes and didn’t award anything.
“Honestly, who is behind these decisions?”
Further adding to the dissent, Portugal international Danilo wrote on social media: “Some things seem predetermined. It can’t be.”
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