Cristiano Ronaldo: When Former Real Madrid Star ‘Robbed’ Shakhtar Donetsk a Penalty

• Cristiano Ronaldo amazed fans after he asked the referee to rescind a penalty decision given to him
• Ronaldo, however, had a different reaction eight years ago in a Champions League tie
• We relive that moment that went against Shakhtar Donetsk's fullback Darijo Srna

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently hogging the headlines after his selfless act during the AFC Champions League tie against Persepolis on November 27.

Ronaldo went down inside the area with the referee immediately pointing to the spot. The Portuguese icon, however, notified the referee that it wasn't a penalty in one of the greatest exhibitions of true sportsmanship.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has earned rave reviews for his actions, with Al-Nassr going ahead to play out to a goalless draw with the Irani side.

However, one Darijo Srna won't be joining in on the bandwagon of praising Ronaldo. The retired Croatian fullback has bitter memories of when he faced Ronaldo's Real Madrid with his Shakhtar Donetsk side in the Champions League in 2015.

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Karim Benzema opened the scoring after 30 minutes for Rafa Benitez's side. Shakhtar were reduced to 10 men after Taras Stepanenko was sent off.

Ronaldo's dubious penalty vs Shakhtar

Ronaldo then took over the show, grabbing his 33rd Real Madrid hat-trick, albeit in controversial circumstances. Benzema made a cut-back to the Los Blancos number 7, who, after a swift turn, unleashed a shot that Srna blocked.

The centre referee awarded a penalty with Ronaldo making a gesture that Srna had blocked the ball with his elbow. Replays, however, showed that the ball actually hit Srna's back and not his elbow as Ronaldo and the referee had thought.

You can watch the video of that incident here;

With the Video Assistant Referee still not in place, the original decision stood with Ronaldo stepping up to score the penalty.

Speaking after the game, Mircea Lucescu, the then-Shakhtar Donestk manager, slammed the officials' decisions.

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"It's very difficult to comment on this game. The first penalty was nowhere near being the case. The ball hit Darijo's back, without touching his hand," he told the club's website, via ESPN.

Real Madrid won the Champions League that season, the first of the three consecutive ones they won with Zinedine Zidane. They beat Atletico Madrid in the final.

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Al-Nassr seals AFC Champions League knockout berth

Earlier, Sports Brief reported on Al-Nassr advancing to the AFC CL knockouts despite a goalless stalemate against Persepolis on Monday, November 27.

The Knights of Najd joined South Korea's Pohang Steelers and three others in advancing early to the subsequent round of Asia's premier club competition.