Cristiano Ronaldo was angry as he was substituted off in Portugal’s World Cup group stage defeat against South Korea on Friday.
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Ronaldo became the first player to score in five different World Cups when he netted from a penalty against Ghana in his nation’s opening World Cup match.
The Portuguese forward then tried to claim he had scored Portugal’s first goal against Uruguay in their second group game but it was confirmed that the cross from Bruno Fernandes had gone straight into the net.
The veteran has started in each of Portugal’s three group stage matches but has been substituted off in all three, including South Korea defeat. His role in Korea’s equaliser was questioned after he turned his back on the ball ahead of the goal.
Ronaldo was substituted off for Andre Silva in the 65 th minute of Friday’s game, with A Bola reporting that he could be heard shouting on camera towards the bench: “You’re in such a hurry to take me off.” He was comforted by teammate Pepe, who was still on the pitch.
Portugal manager Fernando Santos moved to clear up the incident after the game by revealing the superstar was responding to an opposition player, and not the Portugal bench.
“Ronaldo came off the pitch angry, yes, but with the Korean player who was insulting him and sending him away from the pitch,” Santos said. “He replied to him and that is perfectly normal.
“I heard what the Korean player said, in English, and I have no doubt about it and Ronaldo replied ‘you must be in a big hurry for me to leave’. Pepe even went after the Korean player because of that.”
This version of events was also confirmed by Portugal’s goalscorer Ricardo Horta, who said of the incident: “I think he ended up leaving the game unsatisfied because of the reaction of a player from Korea, nothing related to Portugal. He’s already said it and it’s not worth repeating: that he is happy and focused on the World Cup.”
