Euro 2024: Ronaldo’s Yellow for Protesting Denied Penalty Has Fans Confused by Referee’s Decision

• Cristiano Ronaldo was booked when he argued with the referee after he felt that he should have been given a penalty
• The Portuguese superstar had his shirt pulled in the box as he tried to get to the ball and grab his side's equaliser
• Football fans believe Lionel Messi would have been awarded a penalty if the exact situation were to happen with him

Was Cristiano Ronaldo unlucky not to receive a penalty?

That’s the opinion of many online after the Portuguese star was denied a penalty against Georgia in a UEFA Euro group game.

Fox Sports noted that the Portuguese side took on Georgia in their final group game on June 26 but were surprised early on when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored in the opening two minutes.

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Portugal then believed they deserved a penalty when Ronaldo had his shirt pulled while he was in the box. Instead, the Al-Nassr was booked for protesting the decision not to award a foul.

A penalty would have given the Selecao a chance to draw level at that stage and also provide Ronaldo an opportunity to become the oldest goal-scorer in the tournament's history.

Instead, Georgia would get a penalty of their own and go on to win the tie 2-0, Al Jazeera noted.

Fans share Ronaldo's frustration

The Al-Nassr captain wasn't the only one upset by the decision; fans also couldn’t understand it. Some felt that Lionel Messi would have been given a penalty if the same thing had happened to him.

Here’s what fans had to say:

@Dayanneaci remarked:

"The referee is just against Portugal. That is why I stopped watching the game and switched to another channel."

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@Werleed6 commented:

"The referee is clearly against Portugal."

@Brxyne_17 added:

"That would be a pen if it was Pessi at the WC."

@amjustaboi was clear:

"Change that shirt to Argentina's, and it's a penalty 100 out of 100 times."

@os9_osomahh stated:

"If this was Messi, this would’ve been a penalty."

Ronaldo visibly frustrated after substitution

Sports Brief also reported that Ronaldo was upset at being substituted off during the game against Georgia.

The Al-Nassr star was taken off in the second half as Portugal tried to overturn a deficit against the debutants.

CR7 was not happy at coming off and could be seen kicking out at something as he headed to the sub bench.