Martínez: Ronaldo Committed No Violent Act – He Was Just Unlucky When Pushing Away Someone Who Pulled Him

In this round of UEFA Euro Qualifiers, the Republic of Ireland took on Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo was shown a red card after committing an elbowing foul on John O’Shea during the match.

Head coach Roberto Martínez attended the post-match press conference and answered reporters’ questions.

This is a game to forget…

I agree, this is a game to forget. Such things happen in football. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. Ireland played exceptionally well. We talked about set pieces, transition moments… We lacked cutting edge, but we fought until the very end.

We gave our all in the last 20 minutes. We have to admit Ireland deserved the victory. Now we look ahead to Sunday’s game; we need the support of our home fans, and we know we can count on that. We’re counting on the final game to secure qualification.

Why did you bring on Semedo?

It was an emotionally intense game. Cancelo had already picked up a yellow card. Bringing him on was to avoid him getting sent off again. We can adjust the lineup flexibly according to the needs of the match.

Ronaldo’s sending-off

We’ve spoken about it. I think it’s not easy for a player like Cristiano to get sent off in the penalty area. He was constantly in physical contact with defenders, who were pulling him. There was no violent act—he was just trying to push them away. He was unlucky. I don’t think the situation was as bad as what the camera angles captured. It’s his first red card for the national team; it’s unbelievable.