When Cristiano Ronaldo gave up an away match with Iran at the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE), many speculate that the move was made to avoid flogging. The Iranian authorities have already explained to no avail.
Saudi Arabian club Alnasr, who played the first leg of the 2024-2025 ACLE round of 16 at Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran, drew 0-0 in an away match against Estegral of Iran on the 4th (Korea time).
The scoreless match and the absence of the star striker Ronaldo drew much attention. Ronaldo played the entire match without injury in the Saudi league match on Saturday, the eve of the match. However, he failed to make the roster at the Azadi Stadium. Alnasr deployed other strikers such as John Duran and star winger Sadio Mane, who were recruited for a large amount in the winter transfer market, but failed to penetrate the Azadi Stadium.
As for the reason for Ronaldo's absence after the match, media outlets including Spain's "Marca" reported that it was to avoid flogging. It was a quote from the 2023 report. Ronaldo visited Iran not long after moving to Alnasr, and met Fatima Hamami, a female artist who overcame her physical disability. Hamami, who draws with her feet, prepared a portrait to present to Ronaldo, who repaid his love by visiting him in person and receiving the gift and giving him a warm hug.
However, according to Iranian law, which has strict Islamic law, hugging a woman and kissing her on the forehead are considered "adultery" if her husband does not allow it. Some observers said that the maximum punishment is 99 times of flogging and Ronaldo will not go to Iran to avoid punishment. However, reports were discovered at the time when Ronaldo did not appear without any problems during the away match in Iran. 스포츠토토
At the time of the first controversy, Iran refuted, saying that it did not apply such strict laws to foreign players. At the time, the Iranian embassy strongly denied any reports of legal discharge of any foreign player who visited Iran. Ronaldo's humane and serious meeting with Fatima Hamami was praised by our people and sports authorities. Furthermore, he added, "Sharing unfounded news can obscure crimes against humanity and war crimes against oppressed Palestinian states," adding, "Don't create misunderstandings about the Islamic world." For now, local media such as the Saudi Gazette said that Ronaldo skipped the Estegral match to rest and that the decision was made after consultation with coaching staff and medical staff because of the accumulation of muscle fatigue.
However, Ronaldo has a history of "no-show" in Korea, where he does not play unless he wants to. Some speculated that the player might have refused to go to Iran because of the exaggerated reports, even though the Iranian authorities confirmed that there was no problem with Ronaldo's visit and participation. Given the precedent in the Middle East soccer community, where there is no clear report on such issues, it may be difficult to know why in the future.