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Al-Nassr manager Luis Castro blasted referee Wilmar Roldan and VAR after Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. suffered a 3-0 defeat to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League on Friday, December 1.
The Knights of Najd faced off against rivals Al-Hilal away from home in a heated Riyadh derby. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's header gave Al-Hilal the lead in the 64th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo found the back of the net eight minutes later with a stellar half-volley but his effort was chalked off due to a questionable offside.
Despite the replay showing it was a tight call, an extremely quick VAR decision sided with the referee's assistant, much to the chagrin of Luis Castro and Co. Al-Nassr should have arguably received a penalty in the 86th minute when Yassine Bounou missed the ball and clattered into Cristiano Ronaldo, taking him down. However, Al-Hilal were fortunate to escape unscathed.
The home side took full advantage of this in the 89th and 92nd minute via Aleksandar Mitrovic's two goals, sealing all three points.
Luis Castro slammed VAR during the post-match press conference, saying (via Al-Nassr's official X account):
"The game had several moments where the referee ought to have gone to VAR. This is strange; Al-Hilal won and deserved it. Although we made mistakes and the league is still a long way off, we will still make progress - just not in this manner!"
He added:
"When a ball touched Hilal player's hand and went to the goalkeeper, no one spoke about it, not even the referee and VAR. When Hilal scored second goal, Ronaldo was pushed. Has football evolved to the point where you can push anything you want in the game? Because the Arab Championship was the scene of this, and it is happening again now!"
"I won't discuss the offsides that the linesman flagged during the match, including Ronaldo's goal, because there are new technologies that force you to pay attention! We needed another VAR room today, to trace the VAR of the game!"
Despite having his goal ruled out by VAR, Cristiano Ronaldo has still had a very good season to date. The 38-year-old has netted 18 goals and provided nine assists in 20 appearances across all competitions.
"It will be difficult" - Luis Castro gives honest verdict on Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr's title hopes
Luis Castro conceded that it would be difficult for Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr to catch up to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League table following their 3-0 loss on Friday.
Al-Hilal extended their lead at the top of the table to seven points over second-placed Al-Nassr. The former have been impressive this season and are still unbeaten in the league, having won 13 games and drawn two. They have 41 points from 15 games, whereas the Knights of Najd have 34 points, having won 11 games, drawn one, and lost three.
Following the loss, Castro said (via ARAB NEWS):
“It will be difficult. For every team in the championship, it will be difficult. But we push and we keep going. We keep applying pressure because it’s still a long way to go in the championship. We are going to compete.”
Al-Nassr will be aiming to bounce back in their next fixture against Istiklol in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday, December 5.
