Ronaldo and Portugal left furious after being denied a late winner by the referee
Portugal were held to a 2-2 draw by Serbia in Belgrade on Saturday night. Ronaldo was denied a 93rd minute winner in stoppage time as the visitors bottled a two goal advantage to hand Serbia a share of the points. Liverpool’s Diogo Jota scored a first half brace to put Portugal 2-0 before the hosts levelled through Mitrovic and Kostic. Cristiano Ronaldo thought he had won it deep into added time but his effort was ruled out by the officials. Ronaldo’s angled shot was apparently destined for the back of the net but was kept out by a Stefan Mitrovic sliding clearance.
The Portuguese players were furious with the officials who judged that the ball did not cross the line. Although TV replays showed that the ball cleared crossed the line, there was no goal-line technology in the Rajko Mitic Stadium for the match. Booked by Dutch referee Danny Makkelie for his desperate protests, Ronaldo stormed off the pitch just before the final whistle leaving his captain’s armband on the turf.
Serbia 2-2 Portugal.
Last minute.
Cristiano Ronaldo thinks he’s won it.
No goal-line technology.
Goal not given.
— GOAL (@goal) March 28, 2021
“There are moments which are tough to digest especially when we feel the entire nation is being punished,” Ronaldo wrote on Instagram after the game. “We will keep our heads up and move on to the next challenge.” The draw puts Serbia level on 4 points with Portugal at the summit of World Cup Qualifying Group A after two rounds of fixtures.
| Team | P | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serbia | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2 | Portugal | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Azerbaijan | 1 | -1 | 0 | |
| 5 | R. of Ireland | 2 | -2 | 0 |
