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Cristiano Ronaldo caught slapping Dara O’Shea before missing a penalty for Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo was apparently lucky to evade punishment after cameras picked up him slapping Dara O’Shea as he waited to take his penalty kick in Portugal’s World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.
Portugal were looking to move one step closer to qualifying for next year’s World Cup.
And they had a strong line-up with the likes of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Jota all starting.
The hosts controlled possession early on with Ireland trying frantically to hold on.
But Portugal had a perfect opportunity to open the scoring on the night when Fernandes was brought down in the box.
Jeff Hendrick was adjudged to have fouled the Manchester United midfielder after a long check on VAR.
Ronaldo was stood by the penalty spot waiting to take the resulting spot-kick, but was implicated in an altercation with O’Shea.
The Irish star kicked the ball away and Ronaldo was seen countering by slapping O’Shea in the face.
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The 22-year-old went down to the ground holding his face, but Ronaldo escaped any punishment.
After the referee went over to the screen to check Hendrick’s foul on Fernandes, he conclusively pointed to the spot again.
Ronaldo had been waiting for several minutes for his opportunity to not only give Portugal the lead, but beat the international goals world record.
The 36-year-old was level with Iranian legend Ali Daei’s tally of 109 goals heading into the match in Portugal.
The match seemed to be going in Ireland’s way.
Portugal continued pressure on the Irish goal was eventually rewarded in the 89th minute as Ronaldo headed beyond the exceptional Bazunu.
Ireland almost grabbed a second moments later, though, as substitute James McLean forced a save from Patricio at the near post.
However, Ronaldo broke Irish hearts in the final minute of stoppage time with a second header at the back post to win the match and take his international tally to 111 goals.
Kenny’s side will look to bounce back from the late heartbreak when they host Azerbaijan in their next match on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.
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Cristiano Ronaldo caught slapping Dara O’Shea before missing a penalty for Portugal
