In his latest match on Tuesday night, an agitated Cristiano Ronaldo called for the referee to be swapped out mid-match amid Lionel Messi taunts aimed at him following the Argentine's latest Ballon d'Or win.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was evidently left angered by a few decisions the referee made during Al Nassr's round of 16 King Cup of Champions clash with Steven Gerrard's Al Ettifaq.
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In the first half, match official Piero Maza initially awarded a goal to the Portugal captain's teammate Talisca, which would have put them 1-0 up, but a check by the video assistant referee (VAR) deemed Ronaldo to be interfering with play from an offside position.
The former Manchester United star was left fuming by the decision, and signalled to the camera that the referee should be changed.
Ronaldo wanting the referee subbed off ffs ??pic.twitter.com/W3cFvXf03r
— The 44 ?? (@The_Forty_Four) October 31, 2023
He was angered once more later in the first half when Talisca received a yellow card for thrusting his elbow into an opponent. However, after another VAR review, Maza decided to change the yellow to a red and send off the Brazilian.
Ronaldo's outburst in protest of that decision earned him a 38th-minute yellow card.
What eventually turned out to be a positive night for Al Nassr after Sadio Mane scored an extra-time goal to put them through to the quarter-finals of the competition was an evening of mixed emotions for the team's captain.
Prior to the game kicking off, the Portugal international was the subject of much social media discussion after he commented with laughing emojis on a post suggesting Lionel Messi should have won only five Ballons d'Or instead of the eight he has.
Cristiano Ronaldo left laughing emojis on an Instagram post from a Real Madrid journalist claiming Lionel Messi should only have 5 Ballon d'Ors instead of 8 ????Tomas Roncero, claimed the 3 should have gone to Lewandowski, Xavi and Iniesta ?? pic.twitter.com/vggaLhN5MR
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) October 31, 2023
It appeared that some in attendance at Al Nassr's round of 16 encounter were not too pleased with the 28-year-old's actions, taunting him with shouts of "Messi!" throughout the match, with the Argentine having won the famous individual prize just 24 hours before.
In response to their chants, Ronaldo was seen putting his finger to his mouth as if to shush the supporters, before telling them to calm down.
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