Portugal faced Serbia in the World Cup qualifiers on Saturday. Diogo Jota put Portugal into a 2-0 lead but Serbia fought back through goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Filip Kostic.
But the most arguable moment of the match came in injury time. Cristiano Ronaldo managed to send the ball towards the goal from a lobbed trough ball. Stefan Mitrovic somehow managed to clear the ball after it crossed the line.
Everybody thought that Ronaldo has once again scored a late winner for Portugal but the assistant referee didn’t agree to the claims of the ball going inside the goal and it didn’t stand and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
Cristiano Ronaldo was furious after this incident, and he threw the captain armband in frustration and walked off the pitch towards the dressing room before the final whistle was blown.
Cristiano Ronaldo said after the match: “Being captain of the Portugal team is one of the greatest privileges of my life and fills me with pride.”
“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.”
Portugal coach Fernando Santos was also frustrated by the incident and insisted that technology should be introduced for these games as well. He said: “I’ve been told he [Ronaldo] did not react well. It is the normal frustration of those who score Portugal’s winning goal that did not count.”
Portugal will face Luxembourg on Tuesday. Ronaldo and co will definitely hope to get back to winning ways.
