Cristiano Ronaldo walks off pitch after Portugal is denied winning goal against Serbia
Cristiano Ronaldo hails from Portugal and is a modern-day football sensation. He has had countless success with the clubs he has played for, while he has also led Portugal to victory at the international level. He is currently on FIFA World Cup qualifier duty.
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FollowPortuguese football sensation Cristiano Ronaldo keeps scaling new heights of success, both at the club and international level. This distinctive feature makes him lead the race for the all-time great along with Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
Although his future at his present club, Juventus, seems uncertain, he is having a great stint with his national side. Currently, he is on national duty with Portugal in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
On Saturday, Portugal faced off against Serbia at the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade as the game settled for a 2-2 draw. However, it did not go down without controversy.
At the 94th minute, Ronaldo shot the ball towards the goal during the closing stages of the game, beating the goalkeeper as it rolled ahead. However, Serbian defender Stefan Mitrovic managed to clear the ball just when it was on the goal-line.
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Nonetheless, Ronaldo and his teammates were confident that the ball had rolled over the line as they surrounded the linesman, pleading for the goal to be awarded. However, the linesman failed to budge from his stand, while Ronaldo was shown a yellow card for confronting.
With just seconds to go before the full-time whistle, Ronaldo was visibly livid and decided to walk off the field, throwing his captain’s armband in the process. As the referee blew the full-time whistle, television replays promptly suggested that the ball had indeed rolled over the goal-line, which should have been a goal for Ronaldo and co. Also, with no goal-line technology or Video Assitant Referee in place for the qualifiers, the referees were helpless.
Following the incident, Ronaldo took to his social media handles and wrote, “Being captain of the Portugal team is one of the greatest pride and privileges of my life. I always give and will give everything for my country, that will never change. But, there are difficult times to deal with, especially when we feel that an entire nation is being harmed. Lift your head and face the next challenge now! Come on, Portugal! 🇵🇹❤️💪🏽“.
Meanwhile, Portugal boss Fernando Santos defended Ronaldo’s reaction by stating, “I’ve been told he did not react well. It is the normal frustration of those who score Portugal’s winning goal that did not count.”
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