Cristiano Ronaldo has racked up 226 senior appearances for Portugal in a 22-year span. He’s never gotten a red card in international play until Thursday.
During a World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, Ronaldo was sent off for the first time in his international career for throwing an elbow at Irish defender Dara OShea. The Portuguese forward was originally given a yellow before VAR upgraded it to a straight red in the 61st minute.
Ireland stunned Portugal with a 2-0 win in the game, as forward Troy Parrott scored a brace in the first half.
Moments before the incident, Ronaldo held his hands up and mimed crying, seemingly directing it at the Irish players. After the red card was given, though, Ronaldo made a face and held up his hands with two thumbs up before exiting the field.
The incident comes one day after Ronaldo promised to behave himself, even in the face of thousands of Irish fans in Aviva Stadium who were likely to boo him. Ronaldo suspected that his celebrations earlier in qualifiers as Portugal picked up a last-minute win over Ireland at home would not mean a warm reception from Ireland’s supporters.
“I really like the fans here. The support they give to their national team is lovely. For me, it’s a pleasure to come to play here again,” Ronaldo told reporters Wednesday. “I hope they don’t boo too much to me tomorrow. I swear that I’m gonna try to be a good boy.”
Luckily for Ireland’s crowd, that quote didn’t age well. Irish fans jeered at Ronaldo as he exited, holding up their phones to film the moment, with some imitating Ronaldo’s crying motion after the red card was shown.
Though Ronaldo has certainly been booked over the years he’s received nearly 30 yellow cards during his time with the national team, per FBref he has never been given a red card while playing for Portugal. Ronaldo has gotten sent off a few times in his club career, receiving 10 red cards across his 24 years as a pro; his last red was in the 2018-19 season, when he was with Juventus.
Ireland’s shocking win shakes things up in Group F, with only one matchday left in the qualifying round. Portugal currently leads the group with 10 points, with Hungary sitting in second with eight. Ireland now has seven points after the win.
Matchday 10 will be winner-take-all as Ireland and Hungary face each other, but Portugal will need only a win or a draw against Armenia to win the group, with a goal-differential advantage over Hungary as well.