Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo surrendered his official man of the match award to teammate Abdullah Al-Hamdan following a victory against Al-Faisaly. The Saudi Pro League fixture, played on Friday during the 11th round of the domestic campaign, saw Al-Nassr secure three points away from home at the Al-Majma’ah Sports City Stadium.
Al-Hamdan opened the scoring early in the fourth minute before Ronaldo added Al-Nassr’s second goal in the 49th minute. البرازيلي أنجيلو غابرييل sealed the result with a third strike in the 79th minute, while الكونغولي ثيو بوغوندا scored Al-Faisaly’s lone goal in the 66th minute. Despite being selected as the standout player of the match by the league’s sponsor, Ronaldo brought Al-Hamdan alongside him to accept the trophy on the pitch, a gesture that drew widespread attention across social media platforms.
Goalscoring Milestones and Refereeing Decisions Fuel Debate
The encounter generated significant discussion regarding Al-Nassr’s second goal, which various international tracking applications initially credited as an own goal by Al-Faisaly defender Andre Girotto rather than Ronaldo, as noted by Akhbaar 24. While Ronaldo celebrated the conversion on the pitch as his 982nd career goal in his pursuit of 1,000 professional goals, league regulations dictate that final goal attribution rests with the match referee’s official report or the tournament’s disciplinary and referee committees. Reporting indicates the match official ultimately credited the strike to Ronaldo, leaving the forward 18 goals shy of the 1,000-goal milestone.
بعد فوزه بجائزة رجل المباراة.. رونالدو يهديها لعبدالله الحمدان 🤝🏆الجائزة مقدمة من @ToyotaALJ#دوري_روشن_السعودي pic.twitter.com/WxzK0xvRKl
Additional controversy arose from referee Abdullah Al-Owaidan’s decisions during the match, according to El Mawkef Al Arabi. Al-Faisaly players unsuccessfully appealed for an indirect free kick after Al-Nassr defender Nawaf Boushal played a backpass to goalkeeper Bento Krepski. Later in the match, Al-Nassr protested unsuccessfully for a penalty kick when a shot struck the arm of Al-Faisaly defender Abdoulaye Seck inside the penalty area. Match officials allowed play to continue on both occasions without awarding fouls or penalties.
بعد فوزه بجائزة رجل المباراة.. رونالدو يهديها لعبدالله الحمدان 🤝🏆 الجائزة مقدمة من @ToyotaALJ #دوري_روشن_السعودي https://t.co/WxzK0xvRKl
— دوري روشن السعودي (@SPL) October 23, 2026
Former Players Debate Player-Led Award Transfers
The gesture by Ronaldo prompted public debate among former football figures regarding the protocol of players redistributing individual accolades, according to Erem News. Former Al-Hilal and Saudi Arabia national team forward Sami Al-Jaber criticized the practice during an appearance on the television program “Nadīna,” describing it as a growing trend that governing bodies should discourage. Al-Jaber argued that man-of-the-match awards are designated to honor the individual deemed best by the awarding body and questioned whether players should be permitted to redirect official honors to colleagues, pointing to a similar recent instance involving Al-Faisaly defender Andre Girotto handing a best player award to teammate Flavio.
Squad Recovery and Upcoming Fixtures in the Saudi Pro League
Al-Nassr returned to training to prepare for its upcoming domestic fixture against Al-Khlood, scheduled for Thursday in the 12th round of the Saudi Pro League, as reported by FilGoal. Al-Nassr forward Abdullah Al-Hamdan resumed full training on Monday after recovering from a muscle strain sustained during the win over Al-Faisaly. Meanwhile, French winger Kingsley Coman continued a rehabilitation program for a hamstring injury suffered on October 12 against Neftchi Fergana in the AFC Champions League Elite under the supervision of head coach Ange Postecoglou. Midfielder Samu Costa will miss the fixture against Al-Khlood due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Al-Nassr currently occupies second place in the league table with 25 points, trailing table-leaders Al-Hilal by a two-point margin.
