The English striker Ivan Toney sparked widespread controversy after his fiery statements following his team Al-Ahli's 1-1 draw against Al-Fayha in the Saudi League, directing sharp criticism at the refereeing decisions during the match, which he considered to have directly impacted the outcome.

In detail, Tony expressed his anger after his team was denied several penalty kicks that seemed clear from his perspective, saying that some decisions were "inexplicable." He sarcastically questioned, "Does a player have to hold the ball with his hands for a penalty to be awarded?" referring to what he considered repeated refereeing errors against his team.

The crisis did not stop at merely objecting to the match, as Toni indirectly hinted at the benefit to one of the competitors in the race for the top spot when he said, "Who benefits? And who are we chasing?" This was widely understood as a reference to the Al-Nassr team led by the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.

This controversy arises at a critical time in the season, as Al Ahly lost two valuable points in the competition race, falling four points behind the leader while having played one more match. The club issued an official statement expressing its dissatisfaction with the refereeing decisions witnessed during the match.