The referee gave Al-Nassr a penalty but Ronaldo went to him and shook his index finger before saying: “Not a penalty.” After reviewing the play, the referee decided to cancel the penalty.

“Ronaldo was involved in a questionable situation,” wrote online newspaper Infobae, the largest newspaper in Argentina, followed by La Nacion and Clarin. “It’s strange how the Al-Nassr striker reacted, because he is known by the nickname Penaldo, as he has never said no to penalties. But this time, Ronaldo had the world’s attention.”

The game ended 0-0, which was enough for Al-Nassr to advance to the top spot of group E.

La Nacion also commented on his actions: “We still need to see if Ronaldo did it because he regretted diving or just simply slipped.”

Clarin wrote: “Ronaldo continued to be the main man with his actions, this time he is not in the magazines because of an excellent performance but for fairplay.”

After Ronaldo refused the penalty, some Persepolis players came to high-five him. The 38-year-old superstar left the field in the 78th minute and received applause from the home fans.

This is the first time that Ronaldo has refused a penalty, an incredibly rare action in football. In 2012, the all-time FIFA World Cup goalscorer Miroslav Klose scored a goal with his hand for Lazio and told the referee.

Midfielder Aaron Hunt also told the referee to overturn a penalty after he dived in a Bundesliga game in 2014.

Ronaldo is the arch-rival of the legendary Argentinian player Lionel Messi. From 2008 to 2017, each of them won five prestigious Ballon D’Or awards. After Ronaldo departed from Real Madrid in 2018, the competition leaned toward Messi as he won three more Ballon D’Or awards and a World Cup.

Messi has joined Inter Miami in the United States.