In the second leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 at dawn on Thursday (22), Ainas won 2-0 at home against Afaikha, advancing to the last eight of the competition with a two-legged aggregate score of 3-0. Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo scored again, making it eight consecutive official matches. However, the 39-year-old striker was once seen as a candidate for a red card for stamping on an opponent for reckless behavior, but Chinese referee Ma Ning only showed a yellow card, sparking speculation about whether there was favoritism for the star.
It looked like the road to promotion was clear when Ainas' Odavio Emerson broke the deadlock in the 17th minute, but C. Ronaldo was still at full strength. Before the end of the first half, he attempted to scramble for the ball, but slipped and stepped on the back of an opponent's foot in a breathtakingly tense situation. This action would have been enough to get him a straight red card, but Manning ended up giving him only a yellow card. This decision infuriated EFEH coach Rasuwit, who stormed onto the pitch in an agitated manner and demanded that Manning send C-Ronaldo off, but failed to do so, and was himself given an additional yellow card.
