Cristiano Ronaldo stormed off the pitch before full time when he was denied a clear stoppage-time winner in a 2-2 draw in Serbia.
Ronaldo threw off the captain’s armband and headed for the tunnel when his effort was cleared by Serbia defender Stefan Mitrovic after it had crossed the line, with Dutch referee Danny Makkelie waving play on.
Cristiano Ronaldo walked off the pitch before the final whistle at the end of the Serbia-Portugal game, and threw his captain's armband in frustration. pic.twitter.com/I2i9uwkPhM
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 27, 2021With no VAR in place to review the decision, Serbia held out for a draw having fought their way back into the match from two goals down in Belgrade.
The hosts looked to be down and out after Diogo Jota scored twice in the first half for Portugal, but Aleksandar Mitrovic reduced the deficit early in the second half to become his country’s top scorer with 39 goals in 63 appearances.
Filip Kostic made it 2-2 on the hour and the game ended in chaos as Nikola Milenkovic was shown a straight red card for a violent challenge.
The Serbs and Portugal both have four points in Group A, with Luxembourg third on three points after their shock 1-0 over Ireland in Dublin.
Gerson Rodrigues’s superb goal secured the upset victory that left the Irish bottom of the five-team group behind Azerbaijan.
©Reuters