WATCH: Strange Handball in Saudi Pro League Results in a Penalty – News18

The Saudi Pro League witnessed one of its most bizarre penalty incidents on Thursday evening when bottom-placed Al Hazm hosted Al Fateh. At the Al Hazm Club Stadium, Al Fateh’s Fahad Al Harbi decided to high-five his goalkeeper Jacob Rinne after he came out to secure a loose ball. In doing so, he accidentally touched the ball with his hand. The next moment, the referee blew the whistle for a penalty. While the Al Fateh players couldn’t understand what the whistle was for, Rinne’s reaction was extremely telling. He knew what just occurred and was clearly not happy with the unnecessary nudge from his teammate during a crucial game.

Al Hazm gave Al Fateh an early shock after Bruno Viana gave his side the lead in the fifth minute. The former West Ham and West Brom manager Slaven Bilic-coached side struggled since the first minute of the game. Having played 10 minutes, the inexplicable turn of events took place. A VAR check eventually confirmed a handball. This allowed Al Hazm to pick up the second goal of the match after Toze put the ball behind the net from 12 yards.

They went up 2-0 at half time with the scoreline remaining unaffected throughout the second half as well. This saw Al Hazm record only their second win this season. They have now played a total of 16 games, with five draws and nine losses. They are still in the relegation zone with just 11 points to their name.

Al Fateh, on the other hand, conceded their sixth loss of the new Saudi Pro League season. They currently sit in the seventh position with seven wins and three draws in 16 games. Al Fateh will be looking to recover from this strange sequence of events as they are set to take on Al-Shabab on December 15. Al Hazm will take on Abha in their upcoming league fixture.

The Saudi Pro League has recently been troubled by some audience issues. Earlier this month, The Daily Star claimed that the match between Al Riyadh and Al Hazm recorded a mere 264 attendees, despite the league featuring some of the biggest stars in football. The ongoing edition of the Saudi League is currently being led by Neymar Junior’s Al-Hilal who sit on the top with 41 points. They are still undefeated in their ongoing campaign with 13 wins in 15 games. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr take the second spot with 34 points and Karim Benzema’s Al-Ittihad follow in the fourth position with 30