Al Nassr Manager Luis Castro Questions Saudi Pro League Management After Failing to Win Against Al Hilal

Al-Nassr manager Luis Castro slammed referee Wilmar Roldan and VAR after Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. suffered a 3-0 defeat to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League on Friday, December 1.

The Knights of Najd faced off against foe Al-Hilal away from home in a heated Riyadh derby. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's header gave Al-Hilal the lead in the 64th minute. 

Cristiano Ronaldo found the back of the net eight minutes later with a stellar half-volley but his effort was chalked off due to a debatable offside.

Despite the replay showing it was a tight call, an incredibly quick VAR decision sided with the referee's assistant, much to the chagrin of Luis Castro and Co. 

Al-Nassr should have arguably received a penalty in the 86th minute when Yassine Bounou missed the ball and clattered into Cristiano Ronaldo, taking him down.

 However, Al-Hilal was fortunate to escape unscathed. The home side took full advantage of this in the 89th and 92nd minute via Aleksandar Mitrovic's two goals, sealing all three points.

Luis Castro slammed VAR during the post-match press conference, saying (via Al-Nassr's official X account):

"The game had several moments where the referee ought to have gone to VAR. This is strange; Al-Hilal won and deserved it. Although we made mistakes and the league is still a long way off, we will still make progress - just not in this manner!"

He added:

"When a ball touched Hilal player's hand and went to the goalkeeper, no one spoke about it, not even the referee and VAR. When Hilal scored the second goal, Ronaldo was pushed. Has football evolved to the point where you can push anything you want in the game? Because the Arab Championship was the scene of this, and it is happening again now!"

"I won't discuss the offsides that the linesman flagged during the match, including Ronaldo's goal, because there are new technologies that force you to pay attention! We needed another VAR room today, to trace the VAR of the game!"

Despite having his goal ruled out by VAR, Cristiano Ronaldo has still had a very good season to date. The 38-year-old has netted 18 goals and provided nine assists in 20 appearances across all competitions.