Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during the World Cup match against South Korea on December 2.©AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo said he was involved in a verbal altercation with a South Korean player who criticized him for not leaving the field fast enough when he was substituted in Portugal’s 2-1 defeat on Friday. Despite the result, Portugal still topped Group H, pushing South Korea into the last 16 as well, but Ronaldo looked annoyed as he slowly walked away as his tally went up in the 65th minute. “It happened when I was substituted. The Korean player told me to leave faster and I told him to be quiet because he has no authority,” Ronaldo told reporters.
“If I wasn’t going fast enough it was up to the referee to say so. There shouldn’t be any controversy, it was just in the heat of the moment.”
“He was angry with the player from Korea and everyone saw it,” said Portuguese coach Fernando Santos.
“The player insulted him and told him to go away (get off the field), so that’s why he was angry and everyone saw that.
“I saw the interaction with the Korean player and have no doubts about it.”
South Korean midfielder Hwang In-beom tried to play down the controversy.
“I didn’t see it, I was too tired,” he said. “I was looking at the ground so I didn’t see it and I have nothing to say.”
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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