Portugal manager Roberto Martinez defended Cristiano Ronaldo after the forward displayed frustration by kicking a water bottle following his substitution during their surprising 2-0 loss to Georgia. Ronaldo, playing for Al Nassr, was substituted just over an hour into the match as Martinez sought solutions to goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze, replacing Ronaldo with Goncalo Ramos. Despite this change, Portugal was unable to recover, suffering what statistically stands as the biggest upset in European Championships history against a Georgia side ranked 66 places below them in FIFA’s global rankings.
Before taking his place on the bench, Ronaldo’s frustration boiled over as he kicked a water bottle, highlighting his disappointment after a challenging performance. Earlier in the game, Ronaldo had received a yellow card for vehement protests towards the referee after an incident with defender Luka Lochoshvili, where he felt a penalty should have been awarded but wasn’t.
Martinez voiced his belief post-match that Ronaldo should indeed have been awarded a penalty, criticizing the VAR’s inconsistency after later awarding Georgia a penalty kick for their second goal.
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“We were unlucky at times,” Martinez told reporters. “The VAR was inconsistent. If there was a penalty on Antonio Silva, it was even clearer for Ronaldo.”
Ronaldo’s eventful evening didn’t conclude there. As he exited the pitch, he narrowly avoided a strange altercation with a supporter. A fan leaped over barriers toward Ronaldo as he made his way down the tunnel, but security intervened before any contact was made. Ronaldo had already been targeted by several pitch invaders during Portugal’s previous match against Turkey in the tournament.
Portugal’s next challenge is against Slovenia in the round of 16, with their match scheduled for Monday night as the last fixture before the quarter-finals commence.