In just the past few hours, social media in Saudi Arabia has been “exploding” after a video was recorded showing Cristiano Ronaldo – Al-Nassr’s biggest star – having an action that was considered “disrespectful” to the rival team Al-Hilal. In the clip, Ronaldo holds an Al-Hilal scarf or shawl thrown onto the pitch by a fan, then does a strange action that makes the surrounding audience scream in surprise. Immediately after, CR7 throws the scarf back towards the stands with a cold, challenging expression.
Local media and the online community quickly spread this clip, accompanied by a series of mixed comments. Some people think this is an emotional outburst, as Ronaldo may be disappointed after losing to Al-Hilal. However, many others harshly criticized, saying that he is hurting the pride of Saudi fans – where the culture of respecting opponents is considered paramount.
“Ronaldo may be a legend in Europe, but here, people judge you by how you behave, not by your goals,” wrote one comment that went viral on Arabic Twitter. Another was more scathing: “If he can’t control his emotions, he doesn’t deserve to wear the Al-Nassr shirt anymore.”
Meanwhile, another group of fans spoke up to defend the Portuguese superstar, saying that Ronaldo is becoming a “victim” of the media, as his actions may have been misinterpreted or edited. A major Al-Nassr fan page even wrote: “Remember that Ronaldo is always scrutinized for every move. He may have just wanted to throw the towel off the pitch, but the camera angle made it look worse than it actually was.”
In the face of growing controversy, multiple sources close to Al-Nassr revealed that the media team is trying to control the situation, while requesting the removal of videos and posts containing negative content about the incident. However, things seemed to have gotten out of control, when the hashtag related to Ronaldo climbed to the top trending on X (Twitter) in Saudi Arabia after only 1 hour.
Notably, Ronaldo has not made any official statement about the incident. In the most recent training session, he appeared with a rather calm face, still smiling and happy with his teammates. This made many people curious: did CR7 consider this just a “small storm” in the series of noises that he has become too familiar with throughout his career?
From this incident, many international sports experts also commented: “In Europe, such actions may be seen as just a joke, but in Arabia, every gesture has a respectful meaning. Ronaldo needs to remember that he is playing in a very different culture.”
Whatever the truth, it can be seen that Ronaldo’s image in the Middle East is facing the biggest challenge since he left Europe. The CR7 brand empire, built on a professional and strong image, is now facing an unpredictable “crack”. The big question is: Will he speak up to explain, or continue to stay silent as he always does when he gets into trouble?
Either way, the fan community is still waiting to see what happens next – and perhaps, once again, Ronaldo proves that he is not just a player, but also the center of the entire football world.
