Ivan Toney accuses Saudi Pro League referees of ‘influencing’ title race in Cristiano Ronaldo’s favour | OneFootball

Ivan Toney launched a furious tirade at Saudi Pro League referees after his team felt multiple decisions went against them in a contentious draw, accusing match officials of conspiring to tilt the title race in Cristiano Ronaldo’s favour.

Toney’s team Al-Ahli had three appeals for a penalty shrugged off in their 1-1 league draw with mid-table Al-Fayha, which saw them drop two points in a close title race.

The result leaves Al-Ahli third in the league, four points behind Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr side, who lead the standings and have a game in hand. Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr in December 2022 but is yet to win the Saudi Pro League with the PIF-owned club.

Toney ranted at length in a post-match interview at the refereeing decisions, before taking to Instagram to double down on his claims, while the team released a statement accusing the officials of undermining the integrity of the competition. Two penalty appeals for a handball were dismissed by referee Mohammed Sami Al-Ismail and by VAR, with another for a push also rejected.

The former Brentford striker said: “The big talking point was the two penalties. It's clear as day. I don't know what more you want him to do? Pick the ball up with two hands, are you going to give a penalty then or not?

“And then we try to talk to the referee and he tries to tell us to focus on the AFC [Asian Champions League]. How can the referee say this? We're talking about now and he says focus on the AFC. If you want me to go deeper, I can go deeper. It might get me into trouble but I'm a man that says it how it is.

“Throughout the season it's a clear penalty, but now we get to crunch time, they change it, I don't know why.”

Asked who he felt benefited from the decisions, he said: “We know who. Who are we chasing?”

He added: “Hopefully we get some decisions, fair ones. If we have good referees and we play how we normally play, and decisions go our way, we have a good chance. But if they continue like this it will be tough.”

The 30-year-old later took to Instagram to reinforce his point, posting clips of the three contentious decisions and writing: “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!”

open image in gallery

Cristiano Ronaldo is yet to win with the club he joined in late 2022 (Getty Images)

He added: “Next time if needed I can bring someone from my area that doesn’t have a clue about football to do a MUCH better job than some of these,” followed by a clown emoji.

Al-Ahli released a statement expressing its “deep dissatisfaction with the refereeing errors that affected today’s match”.

It said: “The referee’s decisions had a direct impact on the flow of the game and its final outcome, which in turn affected the team’s position in the title race.

“Such errors raise legitimate concerns regarding the referee selection process and the criteria applied, particularly given the high technical and competitive level of the Saudi Roshn League. The team has faced unfair refereeing decisions, an unacceptable situation that neither serves the development of the competition nor upholds the principle of competitive fairness, which must be the foundation of any successful tournament.”

It demanded access to recordings of the communications between the match officials and VAR, as well as with its players, and explanations “for all refereeing incidents where the decisions were not correctly made.”