Cristiano Ronaldo went against his word and was sent off in Portugal’s 2-0 defeat by the Republic of Ireland after he swung an elbow at an opponent.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward said in his pre-match press conference he was going to be a “good boy” after Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson warned the referees not to allow Ronaldo to “control” the game.
However, Ronaldo’s moment of madness came in the 62nd minute, when Portugal were trailing following two first-half goals from former Tottenham striker Troy Parrott.
The 40-year-old was given his marching orders after he swung an elbow at Dara O’Shea after he was dragged down to the floor by the Ipswich defender. Referee Glenn Nyberg initially gave Ronaldo a yellow card before VAR advised he looked again at the monitor, which led to him overturning his original decision and issuing a red.
Ronaldo’s frustration did not stop, however, as he motioned a crying action at O’Shea before he left the pitch. Fans in the Aviva Stadium booed the Portugal forward throughout the game and he then sarcastically clapped them before sharing a few words with Hallgirmsson as he made his way down the tunnel.
Victory against Ireland would have qualified Portugal for next year’s World Cup in the United States, but Ronaldo will now miss their crucial last qualifier against Armenia, who are bottom of their group, on Sunday. He could also miss their opening match next summer, if they do qualify.
When Ireland faced Portugal last month, Ronaldo was seen talking with the Slovakian referee Ivan Kruzliak, who awarded them a penalty and Hallgrimsson felt the 40-year-old influenced his decision. “[Ronaldo was] controlling the referee,” he said after the game. “He was controlling the whole stadium, so all the fans supported his actions and the referee just kind of played along.”