Martinez felt Ronaldo's red card was 'harsh'

13 November 2025; Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal gestures towards Dara O'Shea of Republic of Ireland, not pictured, after they tangled, resulting in a red card for Cristiano Ronaldo during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F Qualifier match between Republic of Ireland and Portugal at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Portugal manager Roberto Martinez felt Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card was ‘harsh’, deriding his counterpart’s pre-match comments as leaving a ‘sour taste’.

Ireland’s 2-0 win in the penultimate World Cup qualifier was overshadowed by the Portugal captain’s sending off for a shove on Dara O’Shea on the hour mark.

Heimir Hallgrímsson has pleaded publicly beforehand for the Swedish referee not to be as influenced as the reverse fixture, last month’s late 1-0 win the Icelander claimed Ronaldo ‘controlled’.

“I think it was a bit harsh,” said Martinez afterwards.

“Cristiano was being grabbed and pushed for the entire 60 minutes. I don’t think it’s an elbow but we accept it. He cares and was frustrated.

“The only bad taste in my mouth the Ireland coach talked about the influence on referees and there’s a big centre-half on the floor.

“Cristiano has won many games for us and we’ve to ensure we win Sunday’s game without him.” 

Ronaldo engaged in verbals with the Irish manager while after mock clapping the jeering home crowd.

“He complimented me for putting pressure on the referee,” said Hallgrímsson.

“Listen, it had nothing to do with me. It was his action on the pitch. Nothing to do with me. Unless I got into his head.” “I think we spoke enough when he came off. Just a moment of silliness from him, I would say.”