In Round 11 of the Saudi Pro League, Al Nassr secured a 3-1 away victory over Al-Kholood, sparking debate over whether Al Nassr's second goal of the match should be credited to Cristiano Ronaldo or deemed an opponent's own goal. According to reports from Saudi media outlet Arriyadiyah, the attribution of Cristiano Ronaldo's goal is strictly based on the referee's official match report, rather than data agencies such as OPTA.
An internal source within the Saudi Pro League revealed to Arriyadiyah that the league does not rely on statistics from international data agencies, websites, or applications (such as the globally renowned "Opta") to determine goal attribution; the post-match referee report serves as the sole official basis. If objections arise regarding the records in the referee's report, a formal appeal for review must be submitted, with the Referees Committee issuing the final decision, meaning the ultimate authority to determine goal attribution belongs to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation Referees Committee.
Arriyadiyah cited an exclusive source yesterday reporting that in the fixture between Al Nassr and Al-Kholood, the match referee credited Al Nassr's second goal to Cristiano Ronaldo in the official match report. According to this record, Cristiano Ronaldo's career goal tally reached 982 goals.
This goal triggered widespread debate across social media following the match. Because Al-Kholood's Brazilian defender Andrei Girotto made contact with the ball as it traveled toward the goal, some supporters believe the goal should be recorded as an own goal by Girotto.
Up to this point, both the FIFA official website and data platform Sofascore have recorded the goal as an own goal by Al-Kholood player Girotto. The official Saudi Pro League website currently presents two conflicting versions: the live match center credits it as Cristiano Ronaldo's goal, whereas the official top-scorers chart and Cristiano Ronaldo's profile page show 4 league goals for the current season, which excludes the goal from this match. In addition, Transfermarkt and data outlet WhoScored continue to record it as Cristiano Ronaldo's goal.
