Cristiano Ronaldo storms off after being denied late winner for Portugal in World Cup qualifier

The Juventus forward was also booked as Portugal were held to a draw

Sports Staff
Sunday 28 March 2021 13:04 BST
Comments
Cristiano Ronaldo threw his captain’s armband to the ground before storming down the tunnel
Cristiano Ronaldo threw his captain’s armband to the ground before storming down the tunnel (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo stormed off the pitch and threw his armband to the floor after being denied an added-time winner in their World Cup qualifying 2-2 draw against Serbia.

The Juventus forward thought he had scored at the death as although his angled shot was cleared by defender Stefan Mitrovic, television replays appeared to show the ball crossing the line.

However, with no goal-line technology or VAR available in Belgrade his effort was not allowed.

A furious Ronaldo was booked for protesting before marching off down the tunnel at the final whistle and hurling away his captain’s armband in disgust.

“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,” Ronaldo later posted on Instagram.

READ MORE

“We will keep our heads up and face the next challenge now.”

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota’s double had put the visitors in control at the break, but second-half goals from Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and Filip Kostic saw Serbia - who had Nikola Milenkovic sent off in stoppage time - hit back.

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in