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| The scene where Cristiano Ronaldo makes a rough tackle on his Portugal teammate João Cancelo in the match between Al Nasr and Al Hilal on the 2nd. Relay Screen |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nasr) is in controversy for making a 'murder tackle' against his Portuguese teammate João Cancelo (Al-Hilal).
Ronaldo attempted to tackle Al Hilal right-back Cancelo just before the end of the first half of the ninth round of the 2024-2025 Saudi Super League against Al Hilal at Al-Awal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the 2nd (Korea time).
It was an attempt to block the ball rolling towards Cancelo, and although it touched the ball, the soles of the feet hit Cancelo's ankles. Cancelo collapsed on the floor and rolled and complained of pain.
The problem is the next scene. Ronaldo, who snatched the ball, attempted a long shot towards the goal. Since then, the lying colleague has been busy protesting the decision by waving his index finger from side to side toward the main body judge. The referee eventually admitted it as a rough foul and issued a warning to Ronaldo.
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| 중계화면 |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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From Ronaldo's point of view, the warning may have been unfair, but it is far from what he will do to his teammates who have been with the national team for more than eight years and even shared a meal with his team (Juventus). Even if the opponent judges that he or she did Hollywood action, it is perception that he or she should look at his or her colleagues first.
Soccer fans 're-lighted' the scenes of Ronaldo and Cancelo's conflict at the training ground during the 2022 Qatar World Cup and Cancelo's remarks ahead of last summer's Euro 2024.
Cancelo said "Ronaldo is a great player who has competed with Lionel Messi for 15 years in the Ballon d'Or. However, the prime time of a soccer player is usually 25 to 32 years old. There is no denying that he is an important player in our team, but (our) national team does not rely entirely on one player." Ronaldo may have considered it a 'strike'.
Fortunately, Cancelo escaped a major injury. He played on the ground for 92 minutes until he was replaced by Hamad Al-Yami in the second half of extra time. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. Alnasr led with Taliska scoring the first goal in the first minute of the first half, and Sergei Milinkovic-Savic scored the equalizer in the 32nd minute of the second half.
The highly anticipated showdown between Ronaldo and Neymar (Al-Hilal) failed. Ronaldo played full 90 minutes, while Neymar is not allowed to play in the league until January, in line with the Saudi league's registration rules. Saudi cannot have more than 10 non-Saudi players in a 25-man squad. Al Hilal signed full-back Henan Roddy from Marseille in January after Neymar was injured. Neymar can play in the Asian Champions League.
Al-Nasr is third with 19 points from nine games, while Al-Hilal is the sole leader with 25 points.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
