Ivan Toney and Al Ahli criticised referees amid a title race with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr. Getty

Ivan Toney has questioned the integrity of officiating in the Saudi Pro League, with his Al Ahli teammate Galeno inferring that the competition wants “one person” to lift the title.

That player would be Cristiano Ronaldo of Al Nassr, who has yet to win the league title since arriving in Saudi Arabia in December 2022.

Al Ahli players felt they were denied at least two penalties in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw against Al Fayha, a result that dropped their team to third place, four points adrift of leaders Al Nassr, who have a game in hand.

“Hand over the trophy, that’s what they want,” Galeno wrote on X after the game. “They want to knock us out of the championship by any means necessary, they want to hand the trophy to one person, a total lack of respect for our club.”

Asked who was benefiting from this, Toney did not name Al Nassr but said in his post-match interview: “We know who. Who are we chasing?”

The England international, who scored his 27th league goal in midweek to continue leading the Saudi Pro League scoring charts, was appalled that their penalty appeals were denied after VAR review.

“The big talking point was the two penalties,” Toney said. “It’s as clear as day. I don’t know what you want him to do, pick the ball up with two hands? Are you going to give a penalty then or not?

“Then when we tried to talk to the referee, he tells us: ‘Focus on the AFC’ [Asian Football Confederation Champions League]. How can the referee say this?

“If you want me to go deeper, I can go deeper but it might get me in trouble. I am a man that says it like it is.

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“The clear talking point is the referee’s mind is elsewhere. Throughout the season it’s a clear penalty. But now we get to crunch time, they change it. I don’t know why.”

In a statement, Al Ahli raised concerns regarding the referee selection process and said: “The team has faced unfair refereeing decisions, an unacceptable situation that neither serves the development of the competition nor upholds the principle of competitive fairness.”

Asked about his team’s title chances, Toney said: “We move on, we do what we can do, hopefully we get some fair ones. If we have good referees, we play how we normally play and decisions go our way, we have a good chance. When it is like this, it’s always going to be tough.”

Al Nassr have not won the Saudi Pro League title since the 2018-19 season. They are two points clear of second-place Al Hilal and play at Al Okhdood on Saturday.