A tough night for the Boys in Green
After a bright Republic of Ireland start in Faro, it all kicked off, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gavin Bazunu at the centre of it all.
The Manchester City goalkeeper, currently on loan at Portsmouth, put Jeff Hendrick in trouble with an under-hit pass. Bruno Fernandes pounced on that pass and, by the merest of fractions, got a touch ahead of Hendrick.
With the Ireland midfielder diving in with a desperate tackle, the referee awarded a penalty. Hendrick was yellow-carded as Irish players protested.
The Video Assistant Replay team advised the ref to check replays to confirm it was a spot-kick. Meanwhile, Ronaldo was in potential bother after swiping at Dara O’Shea.
The West Brom defender had knocked the ball off the penalty spot, eliciting an angry reaction from Ronaldo.
Some were claiming the Portugal captain should have been sent off – including Ronnie Whelan on commentary duty for RTE – and a large number of Irish fans on Twitter.
How is this not a red card for Mr Influencer Ronaldo?https://t.co/jZcvvUME2g
— Edmund 💉 (@EdmundOris) September 1, 2021
Fifa referees allowing Ronaldo to freely slap other players. Hmm
— Teflon (@Tef_lon_don) September 1, 2021
How the fuck is Ronaldo not sent off for this, clearly slaps Dara O Shea in the Dave & VAR done fuck all #PORIRL 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/lyppOuKPDo
— Robbie Coombes (@RobbieCoombes15) September 1, 2021
Grounds for serious complaints about that ref and VAR
– Failing to review the Ronaldo slap/punch
– Failing to check the Connolly pen incident
– Pointless pen check at the end that resulted in the time for the 2nd goalThat @FAIreland team had a great performance tonight #PORIRL
— Mark Gordon (@TheHumanOnion) September 1, 2021
As it all transpired, the penalty stood and Ronaldo avoided any caution.
It was a rough one for Ireland but Bazunu brilliantly saved the penalty from Ronaldo after diving to to right.
The save denied the newly signed Manchester United star the world record for internationals goals, before his late double header saw him set a new record and get the win for Portugal.
