Asian football: Ronaldo scores in his 1,200th game

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 1,200th professional match with a goal and an assist as he helped his Saudi League side Al-Nassr to get a 4-1 win over Al-Riyadh on Friday.

“Cristiano Ronaldo has now played in 1,200 professional matches,” the Saudi League posted on the X platform, as the former Real Madrid player moved closer to Peter Shilton who leads the list of male players with most official appearances.

The 38-year-old Ronaldo opened the scoring shortly after the half-hour mark when he tapped in a cross from Sadio Mane, who had had a goal disallowed in the first minute of the game.

The Portuguese strengthened his status as the league's top scorer with his 16 goals from the season's 16 matches and helped his team to bounce back following a 3-0 defeat to leaders Al-Hilal last Friday.

"Three more points!" Ronaldo posted on social media. "Thankful to all my team mates who helped me reach my 1,200th match. What a ride but we’re not done yet!"

Three minutes into first-half injury time, Ronaldo assisted on his countryman Otavio’s headed goal.

Al-Nassr’s Brazilian Talisca netted twice in the second half, with a consolation goal from Al-Riyadh’s Andre Gray coming in between.

Al-Nassr are second in the standings with 37 points, seven adrift of Al-Hilal, while Al-Riyadh are 14th with 16 points.

Former England goalkeeper Shilton is acknowledged as the record holder for the most competitive men's professional games, though the total is disputed. Some statistics websites say the tally is 1,390 but Shilton himself, on his X feed, gives it as 1,387.

Conflict forces Palestinian team Jabal Al Mukaber to withdraw from AFC Cup

Palestinian club Jabal Al Mukaber have withdrawn from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup as a result of the Israel-Gaza conflict, the region's governing body has announced.

A statement on the AFC's official website said the Palestine Football Association had informed the Kuala Lumpur-based organisation of Jabal Al Mukaber's decision to pull out of the continent's second-tier club competition.

"The AFC notes the club's withdrawal with regret and the matter has now been referred to the AFC Competitions Committee for relevant further action, including the recognition of force majeure," the confederation said.

Jabal Al Mukaber had been drawn in Group A of the competition and had won their opening game 1-0 against Syria's Al-Futuwa before losing 4-0 to Al-Nahda from Oman prior to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

The withdrawal means all of Jabal Al Mukaber's results will be cancelled and considered null and avoid, in accordance with AFC tournament regulations.

The move is the latest to affect Palestinian teams as a result of the conflict.

The Palestinian national team's World Cup qualifier against Australia last month, which was due to be played in the West Bank, was moved to Kuwait due to security concerns.