A Disputed Goal for Al Nassr
Cristiano Ronaldo is pushing closer to the 1,000 career goal mark, but one of his recent strikes has raised questions. On Oct. 23, the 41 year old striker celebrated scoring his 982nd career goal during Al Nassr's 3-1 win over Al Faisaly in the Saudi Pro League.
The goal came in the 49th minute from a João Félix free kick. Ronaldo celebrated a glancing header, but the ball deflected into the net off Al Faisaly defender Andrei Girotto. Data provider Opta listed the strike as an own goal, but the Saudi Pro League officially awarded it to Ronaldo.
The Race to One Thousand Goals
After adding a hat trick in a 5-3 victory over Al Kholood on Thursday, Ronaldo now stands at 985 official career goals. His career tally includes goals for Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Al Nassr, and Portugal.
Former English top tier referee Andy Davies shared how goal decisions are handled. In England, a three person Goal Accreditation Panel reviews match footage and data to make final rulings. If an initial shot is on target, minor deflections stay with the attacker. If a shot is going off target and a defender diverts it into the net, it is recorded as an own goal.
Similar Calls and Referee Rulings
Similar calls happen regularly in top leagues. On Oct. 25, 2026, a 17th minute strike by Florian Wirtz in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Brighton was given as an own goal by Pascal Gross. In another case on Sept. 14, 2026, Leeds United successfully appealed a decision, transferring credit for a goal from Jayden Bogle to teammate Dominic Calvert-Lewin in their 4-1 win over Newcastle United.
Analyzing Ronaldo's goal against Al Faisaly, Davies noted that any touch from Ronaldo was negligible. He stated that the significant touch came from the defender, which pushed the ball past the goalkeeper. Davies expressed surprise at the Saudi Pro League giving the goal to Ronaldo, though he added that the defender is likely relieved not to have an own goal to his name.
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