A furious Cristiano Ronaldo gestured for the referee to be substituted during Al-Nassr's 1-0 win over Al-Ettifaq in the King Cup of Champions quarter-finals. Ronaldo had been angered by the performance of the referee in the closing stages of the first half of the match.<br /><br />Ronaldo had been angered by the performance of the referee in the closing stages of the first half of the match.<br /><br />His team-mate Talisca had appeared to have given Al-Nassr the lead in stoppage time at the end of the first half.<br /><br />The Brazilian turned in a cross at the back post, with his effort initially awarded by Chilean referee Piero Maza.<br /><br />His effort was chalked off following a VAR review, with Ronaldo adjudged to have been offside and interfering with play.<br /><br />Ronaldo signaled to the bench for a substitution, before pointing at the referee.<br /><br />Maza was forced to make another decision involving Talisca moments later, with the referee booking the Al-Nassr player after catching an opponent with his left arm.<br /><br />Another VAR review led to the yellow card being upgraded to a red, with Talisca adjudged to have struck out with his arm.<br /><br />Ronaldo had earlier been booked in the first half for dissent towards the referee after the 38-year-old had seen an appeal for a free-kick waved away.<br /><br />The Portuguese star avoided a second booking for his outburst towards the official later in the half.<br /><br />Al-Ettifaq, managed by Steven Gerrard, was also reduced to 10 men in the match with midfielder Ali Hazazi sent off for a foul which led to a brawl between the two teams.<br /><br />Sadio Mane would score the decisive goal in the bad-tempered cup tie, with the former Liverpool star netting in the second period of extra time.<br /><br />The result takes Al-Nassr into the last eight of the cup competition, which features teams from the top two tiers in Saudi Arabia.
