Al-Ahli beat Al-Khaleej 4-1 in the eleventh round of the Saudi Roshn Pro League. Ivan Toney scored the opener, but the decision became controversial after the goal was confirmed following a VAR review that took several minutes.
Goal stood after review
The opening goal came through Toney. Saudi referee Abdullah Al-Shahri confirmed it after reviewing the incident on the video technology screen.
The decision raised questions about interference from an Al-Ahli player in an offside position and suspected physical contact between Toney and Al-Khaleej defender Mohammed Khabrani.
Gomes protested the call
Al-Khaleej coach Jose Gomes protested the decision. Al-Shahri judged the contact to be nothing more than a natural physical challenge and stuck to his decision to confirm the goal for Al-Ahli.
Al-Kathiri says goal should not have counted
Former international referee Saad Al-Kathiri, the refereeing analyst for Al-Jazirah newspaper, reckoned the decision to award the goal was wrong. According to Al-Kathiri, the incident warranted disallowing the goal and flagging offside against the Al-Ahli player involved.
Toney scores twice
Toney grabbed a brace and took his tally to 13 goals, moving to the top of the Roshn League scoring charts.