Cristiano Ronaldo could be deported from Saudi after ‘crotch grab’

A Saudi lawyer has called for Cristiano Ronaldo to be deported after he appeared to grab his crotch towards fans following Al-Nassr’s 2-0 defeat to Al-Hilal on Tuesday. The crude gesture came after fans began chanting Lionel Messi’s name.

A video uploaded to social media shows Ronaldo grabbing his crotch as he was jeered off the pitch by fans who chanted: “Messi, Messi, Messi,” as he walked down the tunnel. Taking to Twitter, to slam Ronaldo’s actions, lawyer Nouf bin Ahmed wrote: “It is considered a crime of public dishonor, and it is one of the crimes that entails arrest and deportation if committed by a foreigner.”

She vowed to file a complaint to the Saudi Prosecutor’s Office for his ‘crime of public indecency’. But according to reports from Marca, Al-Nassr sources have defended Ronaldo and claim he didn’t make the gesture towards supporters and rather it was a reaction to a blow he received earlier in the match when the ball directly struck his genitals.

However, Saudi journalists weren’t so forgiving of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. One member of the press, Ozman Abu Bakr, called the action “an immoral and impolite gesture against the spectators” and indicated that Al-Nassr should terminate the Portuguese star’s contract as a result.

Al-Nassr’s defeat to Al-Hilal sees them slip further away from league leaders Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League title race. They now find themselves three points behind their rivals in second place with the end of the season fast approaching.

A terrible start for new manager Dinko Jelicic who replaces Rudi Garcia in the dugout after Al-Nassr parted ways with the former Roma boss last week. Reports from Diario AS claimed that Ronaldo had become frustrated with Garcia and that he had held ‘secret talks’ with club executives about his former manager.

Suggestions were made that Ronaldo’s opinion of Garcia had influenced Al-Nassr’s decision to terminate his contract. 

A statement posted on social media by the club confirmed his departure, reading: “Al-Nassr can announce that Head Coach Rudi Garcia has left the Club by mutual agreement. The board and everyone at Al-Nassr would like to thank Rudi and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 8 months.”