Al-Ahli have launched a formal complaint against Saudi Pro League officiating, with players publicly accusing referees of manipulating decisions to benefit Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Al-Nassr in the closing stages of the 2025/26 season.
The allegations surfaced after Al-Ahli were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Fayha on Wednesday, a result that left them third in the table — two points behind Al-Nassr, who also hold a game in hand with seven fixtures still to play. A title win for Al-Nassr would represent Ronaldo’s first league championship in four seasons at the club.
Al-Ahli have formally requested access to audio recordings between on-field officials, VAR operators, and players, demanding, according to the club, “clear explanations for all refereeing incidents where decisions were not correctly made.”
Striking the most prominent note in the controversy was Ivan Toney, who netted his 27th league goal of the season in the draw. The England international claimed his side were denied at least two clear penalties and described the officiating as indefensible. “I think the very big talking point was the two penalties, it is as clear as day,” Toney said in a post-match interview. “I don’t know what more you want him to do. If you pick the ball up with two hands are you going to give a penalty or not?”
Toney also alleged that when Al-Ahli players attempted to challenge the referee’s decisions during the match, they were told to direct their attention elsewhere. “When we tried to talk to the referee, he told us to ‘focus on the AFC [Champions League]‘. How can the referee say this? We are talking about now and he is saying to focus on the AFC,” he said.
The striker did not stop there, hinting at a broader pattern across the season. “If you want me to go deeper, I can go deeper, it might get me into trouble but I am a man that says it how it is. Throughout the season, it was a clear penalty but now we get to the crunch time and they change it,” Toney added.
When pressed on which team stood to gain from such decisions, Toney offered a pointed response. “We know who, who are we chasing?” — an unmistakable reference to Al-Nassr and their Portuguese talisman.
Toney subsequently took the dispute to social media, posting videos of three separate penalty appeals alongside the caption: “It’s actually crazy how you can miss things like this in crucial moments or chose to turn a blind eye. It’s clear what is being influenced here.”
Brazilian winger Galeno, also an Al-Ahli player, went further with his own public statement. “Hand over the trophy, that’s what they want,” he wrote online. “They want to knock us out of the championship by any means necessary, they want to hand the trophy to one person, a total lack of respect for our club.”
The Saudi Pro League has not yet issued a public response to Al-Ahli’s formal request or to the players’ allegations. The accusations come at a critical juncture in the title race, with Al-Nassr positioned to clinch their first domestic championship under Ronaldo. Should the gap remain unchanged or widen, Al-Ahli’s hopes of a first league title in the modern era would diminish considerably heading into the final stretch of the campaign.
