"He knows he made a mistake" - Bruno Fernandes gives his take on Cristiano Ronaldo's sending off in Portugal's loss to Ireland

Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes has downplayed Cristiano Ronaldo's red card against Ireland as just a 'normal' situation. He said Ronaldo later realized that he had made a mistake.

Speaking to the media ahead of the crucial FIFA World Cup qualifier against Armenia, Fernandes was asked about Ronaldo's absence from the matchday squad due to suspension. He said (via The Nassr Zone):

“A red card is something normal in football. It was a moment where Cris reacted in a way that cost him dearly. He knows it wasn’t something he wanted to do, but it happened, and he knows he made a mistake. He won’t be able to help us tomorrow, but that doesn’t change the fact that even before the red card, we were already behind in the score. Obviously, that made things more difficult because we were only playing with ten men, and we didn’t have a player capable of scoring at any moment.”

Meanwhile, national team manager Roberto Martínez claimed that the red card was unlucky, adding that VAR did not check all angles before making a decision and said (via Ojogo):

"Of course, we did. I think it's difficult for a player like Cristiano, who is in the box. And today he had two defenders always with physical contact. There is no violence. He tries to remove the defender and it was unlucky that the VAR consideration... The angle of the images [makes it seem] worse than what happened. It's Ronaldo's first red card in the national team, it's incredible."

Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the first match of the FIFA World Cup if they finish first in the group and qualify directly for the tournament. If they finish second in the table, he will miss the first leg of the play-off.

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo admits 2026 FIFA World Cup will be his final tournament

Cristiano Ronaldo spoke to the media about the 2026 FIFA World Cup, admitting that next summer's tournament will be his final one. He pointed at his age as the key reason for his decision and said (via BBC):

"Definitely, yes. I will be 41 years old and I think [this] will be the moment in the big competition. Let's be honest, when I mean soon, it's probably one or two years I'll still be at the game."

Cristiano Ronaldo has not revealed when he will be calling it time on his career, and has two years left on his contract at Al-Nassr.