Iran, via its embassy in Spain, is denying a claim that soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo was sentenced to 99 lashes for hugging a woman.

Officials said it hadn’t issued “any court ruling against any international athlete in Iran.”

Social media users circulated the claim about Ronaldo, who debuted this year with Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr.

“Cristiano #Ronaldo could face a sentence of ‘99 lashes for adultery’ the next time he visits #Iran because of a photo with a painter,” reads the caption on a popular Instagram post.

The post includes photos of Ronaldo hugging Fatemeh Hamami, an Iranian artist who has painted portraits of the soccer star and others by holding a brush with her feet.

But in a post last week responding to the claim on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Iranian Embassy in Spain rejected the notion that the country’s justice system had issued such a ruling.

“We strongly deny the issuance of any court ruling against any international athlete in Iran,” the post read.

The embassy noted that Ronaldo traveled to Iran on Sept. 18 and 19 to play soccer and was well received.

Videos of Ronaldo with Hamami were published on the painter’s Instagram account Sept. 20.