Why could former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo get arrested and deported from Saudi Arabia?

Cristiano Ronaldo’s club career has been on something of a downward spiral since leaving multiple Champions League winners Real Madrid in 2018. The Portuguese decided to call time on his nine-year spell at the Santiago Bernabéu, assuming that success that he had in Spain would follow him as he took on new challenges. That’s not quite how things have worked out, however.

Ronaldo’s Al Nassr lagging behind in Saudi Pro League

Five years on from his departure, Ronaldo’s fall from grace could now see him miss out on winning the Saudi Arabian league title with Al Nassr, the minimum expectation when he joined the club at the beginning of the year. A defeat against rivals Al Hilal leaves them with serious work to do to overhaul leaders Al Ittihad, who are three points ahead and seven matches left to play, compared to Al Nassr’s six.

On-field petulance

On top of that, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s on-field petulance appears to be increasing as the weeks go by. In the clash against Al Hilal, Ronaldo wrestled opposition player Gustavo Cuéllar to the ground in a headlock, an incident which could quite easily have led to a red card had the referee Michael Oliver not been so forgiving. The attacker was even seen touching his genitals when rival fans began chanting long-time arch enemy Lionel Messi’s name at him from the stands. In previous games, he has also argued angrily with opponents, who has he accused of time-wasting and continuous fouling.

How have Ronaldo and Real Madrid fared since they parted ways?

Despite Ronaldo’s incredible goalscoring record while at Real Madrid, Los Blancos haven’t missed their all-time record goalscorer too much in the grand scheme of things. Since leaving, the Portuguese star has won Serie A twice, two Italian Super Cups and one Coppa de Italia with Juventus, while Madrid have amassed two LaLiga titles, two FIFA Club World Cups, one Champions League and one UEFA Super Cup. They have qualified for the Champions League semi-final on three occasions and could lift the trophy again this season, along with the Copa del Rey.

Does Ronaldo look on at Real Madrid’s continued success and wonder what might have been?

Could Ronaldo be arrested and deported for his on-field actions?

Nouf bin Ahmed, a lawyer, professor at the University of Genoa in Italy and advisor, who also works with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, announced on Twitter that she would present a petition to the Public Ministry of Saudi Arabia for Ronaldo to be arrested and deported for grabbing his genitals after hearing Messi’s name chanted by fans after Al Nassr lost to Al Ittihad in the Riyadh derby.

“I don’t follow sport. Even if the crowd provoked Ronaldo, he didn’t know how to react. Cristiano’s behaviour is a crime. An indecent public act, which is one of the crimes that allows for arrest and deportation if committed by a foreigner. We will present a petition to the Public Ministry regarding the issue”, said a tweet from the lawyer.