Outside the lines, 25.2/Video editing: Ziv Steiner
The Ethics Committee of the Saudi Federation decided last night (Thursday) to suspend Cristiano Ronaldo from one game and fined him 5,300 dollars, due to the obscene movement he made against Shabab Al Ahly.
The veteran star reacted with an obscene gesture to chants of "Messi, Messi" from the stands, proving - not for the first time - that the very mention of his old rival's name gets on his nerves.
"It doesn't take much to elicit a reaction from one of the most famous athletes in the world," said a commentary column in "Athletic".
"Ronaldo is used to being yelled at, but he hasn't played with Messi in the same league since 2018 and hasn't been on the pitch for a competitive game with him since 2020. The rivalry isn't really a real thing anymore, but it seems that for Ronaldo it is. Otherwise, why would he react like that? It's impossible Not to wonder about the fragile ego of this man, that the mere mention of an opposing player's name elicits a reaction from him - any reaction - especially one that leads to a suspension."
So why is this happening?
According to The Athletic, "Although he is a super athlete and a crazy athlete, he has a limited time in his career, and it feels sad that he is spending his last days like this. Playing in a weak league was not his plan, no matter how much he insists that it was - and he is still haunted by the ghosts of The man he's been compared to his whole career. It seems he'll never be truly satisfied, and for someone who's achieved so much, it's pretty bleak."
Ronaldo's obscene movement
"I respect all the clubs. The movement I made expresses strength and victory, it is not immoral. In Europe we are used to it," Ronaldo said before the discussion of his case.
It is also claimed that Ronaldo included in his testimony video clips from similar cases in the European leagues in which he played, when his message to the committee was written in several languages before being translated into Arabic.
This is the second time that Ronaldo has made a move that is seen as "immoral" since he signed for Al Nasser, but as you can recall, he had similar reactions earlier in his career when fans of opposing teams called out the name of CR7's great rival, Leo Messi, in order to provoke in portuguese.
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Cristiano Ronaldo
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