Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr Dragged Into Controversy by Shocking Referee Allegations

England international Ivan Toney made some incredible claims during a postmatch tirade which called into question Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr are in a heated Saudi Pro League title race with Ivan Toney’s Al Ahli. | Fayez NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images

Al Ahli’s English striker Ivan Toney launched an astonishing tirade against the Saudi Pro League’s officials, claiming that his title chasers had been denied multiple “clear” penalties and were advised by the referee to “focus” on other competitions.

When asked who this grand conspiracy would benefit, Toney mustered a smirk. “We know who. Who are we chasing?”

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr currently lead the Pro League, boasting a two-point gap above Al Hilal in second with a game in hand. The Riyadh outfit are now four points clear of Toney thanks to Al Ahli’s controversial 1–1 draw with Al Fayha on Wednesday night.

Ronaldo is yet to win the Saudi top flight since arriving in the Kingdom three years ago. After failing to sustain a title challenge over the past two campaigns, Al Nassr are just seven games away from glory this year. Although Toney has cast some doubt over the circumstances behind that upward surge.

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Toney Accuses Referee of Telling Al Ahli Players to Forget About the League

مطالبة لاعبي الأهلي بركلة جزاء آخرى الدقايق 🗣️

⁩ #الفيحاء_الأهلي | #دوري_روشن_السعودي pic.twitter.com/mS6gRA9cTV

— رياضة ثمانية (@thmanyahsports) April 8, 2026

“The big talking point was the two penalties,” Toney fumed in his postmatch interview. “It’s clear—it’s clear as day. I don’t know what more you want him to do. If he picked the ball up with two hands would you give a penalty then, or not? And then when we tried to talk to the referee, he just tell us, ‘Focus on the AFC [Asian Champions League].’

“How can the referee say this? We’re talking about now and he’s saying, ‘Focus on the AFC.’

“If you want me to go deeper, I can go deeper but it might get me in trouble. I’m a man that says it how it is. I think the clear talking points are that the referee’s mind is elsewhere.”

Toney wore a disgruntled expression throughout his stern interview but slipped into sarcasm at one point. “He [the referee] said his earpiece is recording,” the former Brentford forward sniffed, “but maybe it switched off at that point—I don’t know.”

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

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Saudi Pro League Title Race

Position / Team	Games	Goal Difference	Points
1. Al Nassr	27	+55	70
2. Al Hilal	28	+50	68
3. Al Ahli	28	+35	66

Correct as of April 9.

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These allegations were no heat-of-the moment outburst. Toney would later double down on social media, posting videos of the penalty incidents on his Instagram story before 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!!!

“Also with the referee telling us to concentrate on a different competition whilst VAR is going on is beyond me.

“And to add with the referee agreeing that the first one was a penalty in the 90+ minute like that’s going to help. But listen I guess I’m probably the bad guy for speaking some truths and pointing out questionable decisions or s--- refereeing.”

“Next time,” he concluded, “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.”

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Al Ahli Release Official Statement Supporting Toney’s Claim

Ivan Toney (right) had plenty to say on Wednesday. | Yasser Bakhsh-FIFA/FIFA/Getty Images

Shortly after the final whistle on Wednesday, Al Ahli posted an official statement expressing the club’s “profound dissatisfaction with the refereeing errors” in the draw.

“These errors raise legitimate questions about the referee selection process and the criteria applied, especially given the high technical and competitive level of the Saudi Roshn League,” the punchy publication added. “The team has suffered from unfair refereeing decisions, an unacceptable situation that does not contribute to the development of the competition or respect the principle of competitive fairness, which should be the foundation of any successful tournament.

“Al Ahli Club requests access to the recordings and communications between the referees and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), as well as their interactions with the team's players during the match. Furthermore, it requests clear explanations for all refereeing incidents where the decisions were incorrect.”

Former Premier League champion Riyad Mahrez, who played the full 90 minutes alongside Toney, quoted Al Ahli’s post on social media with the speaking head emoji.

The intriguing undertone to these allegations are the obvious links between all the clubs involved. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) boasts a majority stake in all three teams battling it out for the Pro League title.

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