Cristiano Ronaldo brutally mocked by Ireland fans as coach brands Portugal star ‘silly’ | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo was brutally mocked by the Republic of Ireland supporters after being sent off as Portugal lost 2-0 on Thursday night.

Troy Parrott scored twice as The Boys in Green boosted their chances of qualifying from their World Cup European qualifiers group.

Republic of Ireland head into their final game against Hungary on Sunday, one point behind their opponents and three points adrift of group leaders Portugal.

Ronaldo made their job easier on Thursday when he was sent off 62 minutes for throwing an elbow at Dara O’Shea before being seen mocking the Ireland defender with a crying gesture.

After giving Ronaldo a yellow card initially, referee Glenn Nyberg was instructed to review the decision by VAR before upgrading it to a red card.

One fan was seen repeating Ronaldo’s crying gesture back to him as the former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar trudged off the pitch to sarcastic applause from the Republic of Ireland supporters.

Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson and Ronaldo were involved in a heated debate before the Portugal international eventually disappeared down the tunnel at the Aviva Stadium.

Revealing what Ronaldo said to him in the exchange, Hallgrimsson said post-match: “He complimented me with putting pressure on the referee but listen, it had nothing to do with me, it was his action on the pitch that cost him a red card

“It had nothing to do with me unless I got into his head.’

The Irish head coach added: “He said that to me walking way. He told me it was a clever thing to do. He blamed the referee or whomever for this, but it was his silly decision to attack our player.”

Portugal boss Roberto Martinez attempted to defend Ronaldo in the aftermath of the match, claiming that the Al-Nassr striker had pushed O’Shea away.

Martinez said: “It’s difficult for a player like Cristiano to be in the penalty area.

“He had constant contact with the defenders, who were grabbing him. There was no violence — he tried to push them away.

“He was unlucky. I think the angle of the images makes it worse than it actually happened. It’s his first red card for the national team, it’s incredible.”

Kylian Mbappe scored a brace for France on Thursday to notch his 400th career goal with the Real Madrid star eyeing Ronaldo-levels of goals.

Mbappe insisted: “400 goals don’t impress people. I want to make my mark in football history, so I have to score at least 400 more. There is one with 950+ goals, and another with 900+, 400 isn’t enough to stay in the circle of players who shock people.”