Portuguese Pedro Emanuel, the coach of Al-Fayha, criticized the referee of the Al-Nassr match in the league.

Al-Nassr won against Al-Fayha with a score of 2-1 in a match held on Saturday evening in the seventh round of the Saudi Professional League.

Emanuel said in the press conference after the match: "I am here because you deserve respect, and I will not only talk about technical matters. We came to play against a team at the top of the standings, with the best attacking line and full points, yet we were a strong rival and created many opportunities to score."

He added: "We presented a match to win today and scored a goal, and we could have achieved the three points, but there were decisions beyond our control. Until the last moment, we were focused and did not lose our concentration, and what happened at the end of the match was beyond our scope."

He pointed out that: "Al-Nassr does not need such matters outside of the scope."

He also criticized the repeated intervention of VAR against his team, saying: "The same VAR that summoned the referee today did that against Al-Ittihad, and it always happens to us. When the referee (Mohammed Al-Huwaish) went to check the VAR, I knew that the decision would take 3 to 4 minutes, and I was sure that the referee would rule against us."

He continued: "Al-Fayha deserved to win, and we worked hard on the field according to our capabilities. The players presented a wonderful match and showed their respect for the opponent on the field, but we did not feel that there was mutual respect for us today."

He concluded: "Al-Nassr played negatively despite their ball possession; because our players succeeded in limiting their danger. This image should not appear in our league, as Al-Nassr is a big team with outstanding players, but today Al-Fayha was the better team."