Cristiano Ronaldo indirectly dragged into controversy as Golden Boot rival Ivan Toney alleges referee bias in Saudi Pro League

Cristiano Ronaldo found himself indirectly drawn into a storm of controversy after Al-Ahli’s furious striker Ivan Toney launched one of the season’s most explosive tirades.

Cristiano Ronaldo found himself indirectly drawn into a storm of controversy after Al-Ahli’s furious striker Ivan Toney launched one of the season’s most explosive tirades. The club’s 1-1 draw against Al-Fayha should have been routine for a title-chasing side, yet it spiraled into a spectacle of frustration, allegations, and pointed accusations about refereeing that could shape the Saudi Pro League title race.

Ronaldo’s Al Nassr may not have been involved on the night. However, the English forward’s claims about decisions “benefiting the team we’re chasing” ensured the conversation immediately drifted toward the Portuguese star.

The match itself unfolded with deceptive simplicity. Toney opened the scoring, his form as sharp as ever, before Al-Fayha equalized shortly after the break. With Al-Ahli pushing for a winner, every missed chance and every blocked shot carried the weight of a title race slipping away. But the tension truly erupted when three separate penalty appeals were waved away, two after full VAR checks.

Players surrounded the referee, frustration building visibly with every decision. And while the final whistle confirmed a draw, it also confirmed something far more combustible: Toney’s patience had snapped.

Toney’s public explosion of anger on social media

The Englishman took his fury straight to Instagram, sharing clips of the incidents. Each came with a sarcastic punchline. “No penalty they say”, he wrote over the first video, which showed him being pushed inside the box. Over the second clip, a handball by Chris Smalling, he added: “Again no penalty…”. A third stoppage-time handball received the same treatment.

But the real storm began when he accused the officiating of outside influence. In his words: “Two of these actions went to VAR and one didn’t. It’s actually crazy how you can miss things like this in crucial moments or choose to turn a blind eye. And without saying too much that may get me in trouble, it’s clear what’s being influenced here!!!”

“Like that’s going to help,” he wrote, calling the performance “sh*t refereeing” and adding that he could find “someone from my area” to do “a much better job.” Every sentence was dripping with anger, and every allegation added fuel to a growing fire around officiating standards in the league.

The words that lit the fuse

The Englishman then revealed what he said was the most shocking moment of the night. Speaking to Saudi network Thmanyah after the match, he claimed the referee or fourth official addressed him during a VAR check and delivered a statement that angered the entire squad. “The referee told us after the match… ‘Focus on the Asian Champions League.’

“How does a referee say something like that? His head is somewhere else. I hope it was recorded and gets released.” The forward continued, insisting the referee later admitted one of the handballs was a penalty, after denying it in real time. 

What’s more, when asked who these supposed influences benefited, the 29-year-old didn’t hesitate: “The team we’re chasing.” Al Nassr. Ronaldo’s team. And just like that, the title race became a battlefield of territorial claims and insinuations.

Ronaldo sees title hopes strengthened

Amid the chaos, the league’s mathematics shifted. The draw meant Al-Ahli failed to cut the gap to Al-Nassr, allowing Ronaldo’s side to tighten its grip on the race with a total of 70 points. For the Portuguese icon, this was an unexpected boost, or as Toney implied, a suspiciously convenient one.

Yet the ex-Premier League striker walked away with a milestone of his own. His goal took him to 27 league strikes, tying Omar Al-Somah’s single-season record for the club and lifting him further ahead of Ronaldo and Julian Quinones in the Golden Boot race.