Cristiano Ronaldo behaviour UNACCEPTABLE, former Portugal player slams captain

Former Portugal international Fernando Meira has slammed current captain Cristiano Ronaldo for his "unacceptable" behaviour following the country's 2-2 draw against Serbia in the World Cup Qualifiers on Saturday. The 36-year-old, who is currently the highest active-goal scorer in internationals, was denied a clear winner in the dying moments of the game as the Portugal national football team settled for a point away from home. Ronaldo stormed off the pitch following the incident and threw away his armband, showing evident signs of frustration at the decision. 

Why did Ronaldo get angry vs Serbia? Ex-Portugal international slams Juventus ace's behaviour 

While Cristiano Ronaldo had every reason to be frustrated following the controversial draw against Serbia, former Portugal international Fernando Meira has criticised the 36-year-old for his reaction following the goal which was denied to him. The former Manchester United superstar stormed off the pitch before the final whistle was blown and threw his captain's armband to the ground as the referee's decision stood in the absence of goal-line and VAR technology. As quoted by ESPN, Meira said, "It's a clear goal, but Ronaldo cannot throw Portugal's captain's armband on the floor. Cristiano's reaction is natural but unacceptable for the captain of the national team".

While Meira understands Ronaldo's source of frustration, the former Portugal international said "You cannot throw the captain's armband on the floor and go towards the changing room while the game is still going on". He mentioned that the Juventus forward's behaviour was "unacceptable" for a player of his importance. Meira said, "I understand his frustration and I agree with him because the goal was valid, but the referees are the ones that have to make decisions, without VAR, and he has to set an example. And yesterday's was not one to follow". Portugal national football team coach Fernando Santos was not concerned by Ronaldo's reaction and said that it was a normal frustration in that situation. 

Santos revealed that the referee in question Danny Makkelie has apologised after denying Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal the winning goal. Makkelie told A Bola that according to FIFA policies, all he could do was apologise for his error and said that being in the news doesn't make referees happy at all. According to ESPN, the 38-year-old has been an international referee since 2008 and officiated the 2020 Europa League final between Sevilla and Inter Milan. Ronaldo had also expressed his frustration on Instagram, writing that it was tough to digest the disallowed goal. 

World Cup European Qualifiers schedule: Serbia vs Portugal highlights 

A brace from Liverpool star Diogo Jota was not enough for Portugal on Saturday as the 2016 Euro champions settled for a 2-2 draw against Serbia in their World Cup qualifying campaign. The visitors had a two-goal lead going into half-time but the hosts responded in fine fashion in the last 45, with Aleksander Mitrovic and Filip Kostic levelling the scores within 15 minutes of the restart. Ronaldo was left fuming in stoppage time when his effort was cleared by Stefan Mitrovic after it had crossed the line, making it to the Serbia vs Portugal highlights. The 2018 Nations League holders are now second in Group A and will take on Luxembourg in their final clash of the current international break on Tuesday night as per the World Cup European Qualifiers schedule (Wednesday IST). 

(Image Courtesy: A screengrab from Sport TV telecast)