(Reuters) – Cristiano Ronaldo has been suspended for one match after allegedly making an offensive gesture following Al Nassr’s victory over Al Shabab, the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee of the Saudi Football Federation (SAFF) announced on Wednesday.
After the game on Sunday, videos circulated on social media showing Ronaldo cupping his ear and gesturing in a provocative manner towards the Al Shabab fans. It is believed that the gesture was in response to chants of “Messi,” referring to his longtime rival Lionel Messi from Argentina.
The committee stated that Ronaldo must pay a fine of 10,000 Saudi riyals ($2,666) to the Saudi Football Federation and an additional 20,000 riyals to Al-Shabab to cover the costs of the complaint fees.
This ruling, according to the committee, cannot be appealed. Ronaldo’s actions have drawn criticism and attention, especially considering his previous incident last year where he made a similar gesture during a game against Al Hilal.
The exchange rate at the time was $1 to 3.7504 riyals.
(Editing by Ahmed El Ghannam and Toby Davis)
