Cristiano Ronaldo, the Al-Nassr captain, has been suspended for one game and fined 30,000 riyals ($8,000) for a gesture he made on the pitch last weekend that was judged a “provocation.”
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation ruled that the gesture, which involved Ronaldo making a repeated thrusting gesture towards his groin in response to crowds taunting him by chanting the name of his longtime rival, Lionel Messi, broke rules against provoking the public during a match. The decision cannot be appealed
In another development, Juventus player Paul Pogba has been banned from football for four years following a failed drug test.
In September, the ex-Manchester United player received a provisional suspension due to elevated testosterone levels found in his drug test. Pogba was randomly tested after Juventus’ first match of the season on August 20, 2023. The ban was backdated to the date of the failed test
Pogba was found to have violated rules due to the presence of non-endogenous testosterone metabolites in the test, indicating an external source of the substances. The ban was expected to be challenged by Pogba, who stated that he did not intentionally use the prohibited substance
