Cristiano Ronaldo has defined that his annoyed response to being substituted in Friday’s 2-1 defeat to South Korea was as a result of behaviour of an opposing participant.
A shock starter within the first place with Portugal already by way of to the subsequent spherical, Ronaldo was substituted shortly after the hour mark with the rating at 1-1. He had failed to attain earlier than his departure and cameras captured him voice his displeasure as he left the sector.
“You’re in a f**king hurry to sub me off,” Portuguese experiences had quoted Ronaldo as saying as he left the pitch.
“What happened was that, before my departure, the player from Korea told me to leave quickly. I told him to shut up,” Ronaldo defined afterwards through B24.
“He has no authority, he doesn’t have to give an opinion, he would speed up the pace if he were the referee. But there doesn’t have to be controversy, things stay on the pitch.
Asked what Ronaldo’s reaction meant and whether there was any rift in the Portugal dressing room, coach Fernando Santos shut down the speculation immediately.
“Cristiano Ronaldo left upset as a result of a Korean participant was making an attempt to rush him off and Pepe even needed to intervene,” Santos told the press. “I heard what the Korean participant was saying. If you see the pictures, you see Pepe going after the South Korea participant due to that.”
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Ronaldo remains one goal behind Eusebio in Portugal’s all-time World Cup scoring charts, with the 37-year-old sitting on eight goals at the global showpiece compared to Eusebio’s nine.
He thought he had matched the record earlier in the World Cup as he wheeled away in celebration during the 2-0 win over Uruguay, claiming to have headed the ball following a cross from teammate Bruno Fernandes. However, adidas’ motion sensors in the ball did not register a touch and the goal was given to Fernandes.
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