Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese player, has spoken out about the abusive gesture he made during a match in the Saudi Pro League last month for the first time.
Ronaldo said that his gesture had been a "misunderstanding" and a "mistake", according to Wion.
During Al-Nassr's 3-2 victory, Ronaldo made an abusive gesture at Al-Shabab supporters who were chanting Lionel Messi's name to agitate him.
"I take this opportunity to talk about the case in which I was punished for a game. What I did was a misunderstanding. I will always respect the cultures of all countries, but what people see is not always reality," said Ronaldo in a news conference.
He kept affirming that he did not make the gesture on purpose, and that it just happened from his end.
"Whenever I make them [mistakes], I don't do it on purpose. Every day I try to be a better man," he said.
Moreover, he did not specify any promises regarding any improvement in his behaviour to set a good example in the future.
"I can't promise because I'm a human being. Nobody is perfect. Life is made of mistakes. What I can promise is that I am a player who gives everything on the field, a player with passion, a player who always wants to win," he added.
In addition to imposing a one-match ban following Ronaldo's gesture, a disciplinary committee also fined him a whopping 10,000 Saudi riyals ($2,666), which he was to pay to the Saudi Football Federation and 20,000 riyals to Al-Shabab to cover the cost of registering the complaint.
Furthermore, the committee disclosed that there is no appeal process available for this decision.
Thrilling semifinal between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will be remembered for its late drama
Flawless Pakistan stay on top of six-team ranking table with three victories and a draw
Lahore will get maximum of 10 matches, Rawalpindi eight while Karachi and Multan to host 5 matches each
Pakistan inch closer to the final of the hockey tournament
