Portugal are “preparing” to submit a “complaint” to FIFA over Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card against Ireland, according to reports.
On Thursday night, Portugal suffered their first World Cup qualifying defeat as they lost 2-0 to the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
Portugal are at the top of the World Cup qualifying group following this group with 10 points with one game remaining. Ireland are in third place with seven points, ahead of second place Hungary with eight points.
Troy Parrott’s goals in either half decided the game in Ireland’s favor, but Ronaldo dominated the headlines after being sent off in the 30th minute for elbowing defender Dara O’Shea.
The home crowd mocked Ronaldo before and after this red card, which was deemed “ridiculous”.
Read: So-called ‘world record’ holder Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t actually scored a decent goal for Portugal
Ronaldo is currently set to miss three matches due to suspension, but it has been revealed that Portuguese authorities are “preparing a complaint” to FIFA to reduce the suspension to one match.
According to Portuguese outlet Record, their discussion will be based on “three points”.
The report explains:
“The Portuguese Football Federation’s (FPF) defense will be based on three points. One is the pre-match atmosphere created by the Irish coach, who accused CR7 of controlling the referee in the match between the two teams in Alvarado. This atmosphere led to the subsequent reaction after the sending off and even to the exchange of words between the two sides.”
“Also, the fact that this kind of play is common in the approach to the national team captain, as the national team captain is constantly being grabbed inside the penalty area, could cause the reaction of frustration seen in Dublin. There was also a lack of precedent, as this was his first expulsion in his career with the national team.”
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Portugal coach Roberto Martínez said Ronaldo’s red card “looks worse than it actually is.”
“The red card is just a captain who has never been sent off in 226 games,” Martinez said.
“I think that’s something to be admired and today I thought it was a little harsh because he cares about the team.
“When he was in the box for 60 minutes or 58 minutes, being grabbed, pulled, pushed and obviously trying to get away from defenders…I think it made it look worse than it actually was.
“I don’t think it’s an elbow. I think it’s a whole body, but from the camera’s position it looks like an elbow. But we’ll take it.
“The only thing that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth is that in the press conference (Wednesday) the coach was talking about the aspect of the referee being affected. Then, in the moment when Cristiano turned his body, the big centre-half fell to the floor so dramatically.”
