WATCH: High five from defender to goalkeeper leads to penalty
Al Fateh’s Fahad Al Harbi conceded a penalty after he touched the ball inside his own box while high-fiving teammate and goalkeeper Jacob Rinne.
Published : Dec 08, 2023 22:33 IST , CHENNAI - 1 MIN READ
REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: A VAR check was conducted, which upheld the referee’s decision. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
The Saudi Pro League witnessed a bizarre penalty incident during a clash between bottom-placed Al Hazm and Al Fateh on Thursday at the Al Hazm Club Stadium.
Al Fateh player Fahad Al Harbi thought he was just high-fiving his goalkeeper Jacob Rinne after the latter came off his line to collect a loose ball. In doing so, Al Harbi accidentally touched the ball with his hand, which led to the referee blowing his whistle for a penalty.
The Al Fateh players took some time to understand what happened before voraciously protesting the referee’s decision. They argued that it was just a harmless high-five. However, the referee made it clear that because Al Harbi is an outfield player, touching the ball with his hand inside the penalty area during the normal course of play is why he gave the spot-kick.
A VAR check was conducted, which upheld the referee’s decision, which allowed Al Hazm to score its second goal of the match, as Toze converted from the spot.
Earlier, Al Hazm had taken an early lead after Bruno Viana scored in the fifth minute.
Despite the 2-0 win, Al Hazm finds itself bottom of the table with 11 points from 16 matches, while Al Fateh is seventh with 24 points from the same number of outings.