The match, held at King Abdullah Sports City, saw a clear dominance from Al-Ahli, who managed to secure a valuable victory over their rival Al-Hilal with a score of three goals to one, thus securing a ticket to the Asian final for “Al-Raqi”.
The goals of the match were scored by Roberto Firmino in the ninth minute, followed by Ivan Toney adding the second goal in the twenty-seventh minute, before Firas Al-Burkan concluded the trio in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
Refereeing expert Ali Hamad described the match as one of the toughest in this edition of the tournament, confirming the presence of ten complex refereeing situations, while denying any impactful errors from the center referee, whom he described as one of the elite referees of the Asian Football Confederation.
He also noted that Koulibaly deserved the red card after receiving two valid yellow cards, affirming that the referee made the right decision, and added that a legitimate goal for Al-Ahli in the forty-ninth minute was not counted, despite the ball returning from a Al-Hilal defender and not from a teammate.
In the eighty-second minute, a legitimate penalty was awarded in favor of Riyad Mahrez, which intensified the refereeing controversy in the match, but according to Ali Hamad’s opinion, it reflected the referee’s competence in making decisive decisions in difficult moments.
Ali Hamad concluded his statement by affirming that the charged atmosphere was natural, given the significance of the clash between two major Saudi teams, denying that there were any decisions that negatively affected the outcome of the match.
