AFC CL: Ronaldo convinces referee to overturn penalty he won during Al Nassr-Persepolis tie - Watch

Cristiano Ronaldo won hearts with his gesture during his side Al Nassr's clash versus Iranian side Persepolis in the AFC Champions League clash. The star striker went down in the second minute of the clash under a challenge from Persepolis defender Soroush Rafiei. He soon wagged his finger after being awarded a penalty kick and came in talks with the referee to try and overturn his decision.

Ronaldo and the Chinese referee Ma Ning had a quick chat. He was seen telling the referee that it was not a spot-kick and was heard saying 'no pen' (no penalty). Soon, the VAR check followed and the decision was ultimately overturned. His gesture was appreciated by his opposition players as many came towards him to laud his act.

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• Here is the video, on X (formerly Twitter) of Ronaldo asking referee to overturn penalty call:

  While many did not read much into Ronaldo's act, as VAR would have eventually ruled out the penalty call, a section of fans has hailed the 38-year-old for his honesty on the social media platform X.

  Talking about the match, Al Nassr were already into the knockouts, and Persepolis played out a goalless draw. The Saudi Arabian side played the majority of the game with 10 players. In the 17th minute, Ali Lajami was given a straight red card for a shin-raking challenge whereas Ronaldo also walked out with a neck injury during the fag moments of the encounter. The veteran doesn't have much time to recover as his side will be up against Al Hilal on Friday in a top-of-the-table league face-off.

  Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian champions Al Ittihad are two points clear at the top of Group C following an