Republic of Ireland coach, Heimir Hallgrímsson has revealed what ‘silly’ Cristiano Ronaldo told him after the Portugal captain received a red card during both sides’ FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifier tie on Thursday.
NEWSUNPLUG reports that a brace from Troy Parrott ensured Ireland defeated Portugal 2-0 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin to keep their hopes of World Cup qualification alive.
Portugal’s hopes of a fightback against the hosts were dented after Ronaldo was sent off after 62 minutes.
The Al-Nassr forward threw an elbow at Ireland’s Dara O’Shea defender following a tussle between the players.
Ronaldo, who was initially given a yellow card, was seen mocking O’Shea with a crying gesture before referee Glenn Nyberg was instructed by VAR to review the decision.
His yellow was upgraded to a red, ruling him out of Portugal’s final qualifying match against Armenia on Sunday.
“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,” Hallgrimsson said at his post-match interview after the game.
“It had nothing to do with me unless I got into his head. He said that to me walking way.
“He told me it was a clever thing to do. He blamed the referee or whoever for this, but it was his silly decision to attack our player.”