Ronaldo banned for provoking fans with gesture after ‘Messi’ chants

Al-Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been handed a one-match ban by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) following his gesture to fans after chants of Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo has also been fined 30,000 Saudi Riyals by the Federation.

A statement by the Federation tagged the gesture which followed their Saudi Pro League win over Al-Shabab as “provoking fans”.

Al Shabab supporters chanted “Messi” after Sunday’s 3-2 defeat in Riyadh, and the Portuguese cupped his hand to his ear and made a gesture to the fans.

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The SAFF disciplinary and ethics committee said Ronaldo cannot appeal against the decision.

Ronaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot for Al-Nassr, but Al-Shabab twice came from behind before Talisca scored an 87th-minute winner.

Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr on a free transfer from Manchester United in December 2022 for reportedly the biggest football salary in history.

He has scored 20 goals in 22 league games this season for Al-Nassr, who are second in the table behind Al-Hilal.

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