Ronaldo Criticised For Poor Behaviour As Portugal Are Held In WCQ

Portugal went into their World Cup qualifier against Serbia as the favorites as they have a great team led by their captain and 5 time FIFA Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal did not waste any time in scoring as Diogo Jota scored the first goal in the 11th minute of the game.

Portugal appeared to be running away with the game when Diogo Jota scored yet again in the 36th minute to give Portugal a 2-0 lead. Serbia fought back hard and managed to score their first goal in the 46th minute after Aleksandar Mitrovic scored.

Serbia locked up their defense and made it difficult for Ronaldo and Jota to score. Things started to heat up in the game when Filip Kostic scored for Serbia in the 60th minute to make in 2-2.

The two sides played some rough football during the second half and it looked like the match was going to end in a draw, much to the disappointment of Portugal. However, in the final minutes of the game, Cristiano Ronaldo showed just how special a player he is but scoring what appeared to be the winning goal.

Sky Sports Football

Ronaldo sent the ball into the goal but defender Stefan Mitrović slid into the goal and appeared to clear the ball before it crossed the goal line. The referee Danny Makkelie ruled that it was not a goal much to the disbelief of Ronaldo who felt that it clearly crossed the line.

Since there is no VAR technology being used in these games, the referee did not have the benefit of asking for a replay even though replays showed that the ball had crossed the line and Portugal should have won 3-2.

Ronaldo Throws Captain’s Band And Walks Away

Cristiano Ronaldo was livid with the referee and decided to walk away from the game even before the final whistle was blown. He threw his captain’s armband down on the ground in frustration and had a few things to say.

Former Portugal defender Fernando Meira was one of the many people who criticised Ronaldo’s behaviour saying throwing down the captain’s armband in disgust was unacceptable behaviour. Meria said while Ronaldo had a right to be upset, he had to show better sportsmanship being the captain.

However, Ronaldo justified his actions saying that it is a privilege to be the captain of Portugal and his reaction was one of hurt and upset as the referee did harm Portugal by making such a poor decision!