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Why Cristiano Ronaldo Was Sent Off in Ireland vs Portugal?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Manuel Meza Cienfuegos | Last updated Nov 13, 2025 4:38 PM ET

Portugal was not having its best match against Ireland on Thursday in Dublin, and everything worsened in the 59th minute when Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off with a red card.

Ireland opened the scoreboard in the 17th minute when Troy Parrott found the net on a corner kick. Liam Scales deserves credit, as he put the ball back into the danger area, where Parrott took advantage and put his team ahead.

Before the end of the first half, Parrott secured his brace thanks to a great individual play. The AZ Alkmaar striker took advantage of a pass from Dara O'Shea, faced the defense, and shot to the left post of Diogo Costa's goal.

Everything worsened for the away side during the first 15 minutes of the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo Sent Off for Violent Conduct in Ireland vs Portugal Match

In the 61st minute, Ronaldo was expelled with a direct red card. The referee went to the pitchside monitor and, upon analyzing a replay, saw that the Portuguese star struck O'Shea with his rear arm. This was considered violent conduct by the official.

"The referee is sent to his pitchside monitor, where replays show Ronaldo struck O'Shea with his trailing elbow," explained the portal FotMob.

"It is deemed violent conduct by the official, who overturns his initial decision to show a yellow card and brandishes a red one in the skipper's direction."

The Al-Nassr star left the field applauding sarcastically, visibly upset by what happened.

Ireland maintains hope of falling into the repechage to attempt in the last instance to secure its pass to the World Cup 2026.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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