The Majority (56%) Agree That Cohabitation Laws Should Be Lifted for All Expatriates

Cristiano Ronaldo, the renowned Portuguese football player, recently signed a 2.5-year contract worth €200 million per year with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr FC. He moved to Saudi with his girlfriend, Spanish supermodel Georgina Rodriguez. The move has raised questions about the couple’s ability to live together in the country, as Saudi Arabia’s strict laws prohibit cohabitation without a marriage contract.

However, Saudi legal experts have confirmed that the authorities will “turn a blind eye” to accommodate the footballer, allowing him and his partner to settle into their luxury property. This has led to questions about whether high-profile individuals are treated differently under the law compared to the general society. It is important to note that Saudi Arabia has been taking steps in recent years to modernize and open up to the rest of the world, so laws and customs may change in the future.

Our survey data shows that while the overall respondents’ opinion of Saudi Arabia making an exception for Ronaldo living with Georgina, a significant number of respondents reported the exception that Ronaldo living with Georgina in Saudi Arabia is justifiable. This suggests that respondents reported it as justifiable and also says that laws prohibiting cohabitation should be lifted for everyone.

Therefore, Real Research, an online survey app, launched a survey on Ronaldo co-living with his girlfriend in Saudi Arabia before marriage to gather more information about such unmarried couples living together in Saudi Arabia.

Highlights:

• 44.79% are completely aware of Saudia Arabia’s Islamic laws on cohabitation.
• 43.15% are aware of Ronaldo living with Georgina in Saudi Arabia
• 21.11% feel strongly justified towards the exception made by Saudi Arabia despite the laws

The first poll shows that 44.79% are completely aware that Saudi Arabia’s Islamic laws restrict cohabitation without a marriage contract, 22.59% were aware of this, but to some extent, 15.98% were not aware but assumed of that. On the other hand, 8.98% have only heard about such laws, and 7.68% were completely unaware.

The following shows respondents’ awareness of Ronaldo living with Georgina in Saudi Arabia after his move to the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr FC. Results show that 43.15% were aware of it, while 26.6% were partially aware, 18.54% were only aware that Ronaldo left his only club, Manchester United, and 11.73% were unaware.

Ronaldo Living With Georgina in Saudi Arabia: Ronaldo’s Free Residency

Several sources reported that Ronald is unlikely to face any charges for breaking the law, as he is one of the most popular football players. 8.77% of respondents reported that Saudi is turning a blind eye due to the popularity of the player, 8.53% said since the club spent €200 million on the deal, authorities did not want to sabotage the deal, 8.5% said Saudi is gradually becoming more progressive and accepting, 7.94% said the authorities do not interfere with foreign cases, and 6.6% said the same but with celebrities.

Furthermore, 21.11% of the respondents felt strongly justified about Saudi’s exception, 16.53% felt somewhat justified, 15.9 % felt somewhat unjustified, and 11.51% felt strongly justified. 27.65% remained neutral, and 7.31% were undecided.

The majority of respondents (44.22%) felt that jail time for committing the same offense as others is at least somewhat justified, while 23.35% felt it was at least somewhat unjustified. 26.51% found it strongly justified, 17.71% somewhat justified, 12.2% somewhat unjustified, and 11.15% strongly unjustified.

25.83% remained neutral, and 6.62% were undecided.

Let’s Talk About Equality

When asked if the law prohibiting cohabitation without a marriage contract should be lifted for every expatriate in Saudi, results revealed that the majority (55.85%) agreed, whereas 17.38% disagreed. 19.58% stood neutral, and 7.19% remained undecided.

In addition to that, 59.29% agreed that it should be enforced on everyone, regardless of their status or profession, compared to 15.58% who disagreed.

We also asked our respondents if they believed that the exception made for Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia could be a sign of further changes in the country as part of Crown Prince, Prince Mohomed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030. 34.83% said definitely yes, 31.13% said possibly yes, 15.2% said possibly not, 8.45% said definitely not, and 10.4% were uncertain.

Finally, we asked our respondents how they feel when high-profile individuals are treated differently under the law compared to the general public. 9.73% felt injustice, 5.56% felt outrageous, 6.65% felt angry, 5.78% felt frustrated, 6.74% felt hypocritical, 6.85% felt disappointed, and 6.38% felt worried.  While , 6.71% felt satisfied, 6.16% felt excited, 6.1% felt appreciated, 5.94% felt relieved, and 7.13% felt happy.”