Cristiano Ronaldo turns down penalty in remarkable sports gesture

Respected for his unmatched prowess on the pitch, Saudi football club Al Nassr's star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has once again astonished football fans around the world in a remarkable sportsmanship gesture as he requested a referee to "overturn" a penalty that he had won.

The incident occurred in the second minute of the Asian Champions League (AFC) match between Ronaldo's Al Nassr and the Iranian club Persepolis when the Portuguese forward fell down while trying to capitalise on a cross from Sadio Mane.

As soon as Ronaldo went down, Chinese referee Ma Ning, judging a foul, awarded a penalty to the Saudi club.

However, Ronaldo immediately objected to the referee's whistle urging him to overturn the penalty decision.

The referee then reviewed the replay — which showed that there was no foul — via the video assistant referee (VAR) and revoked his penalty call.

Though there have been a few instances of this kind where a player has been forthright with the referee and acknowledged that there was no penalty, fans have not witnessed such an incident featuring the Portuguese star before.

The match ended in a draw with both teams failing to find the back of the net.

It is pertinent to mention that Al Nassr — prior to the match — had already become eligible for the knockout stages. After five games, the Saudi Pro League team leads Group E with 13 points, five points ahead of Persepolis who are in second place.