The referee of the match between Portugal and Serbia apologizes for not counting Ronaldo's goal .. "Forgive me"
Dutchman Danny Makeley renewed the referee of Portugal and Serbia (2-2) in the second round of Group A competitions in the European qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, on Monday, his apology for not counting the goal of star Cristiano Ronaldo.
"All I can say is that I asked coach Fernando Santos and the Portuguese national team for permission for what happened," the 38-year-old Dutch referee said in a statement to the sports daily A Bola.
"As a team of referees, we always work to make the best decisions, and when we grab the headlines in this way, it never satisfies us," he added.
The match between Portugal and its host Serbia on Saturday witnessed a controversial end. In the third minute of stoppage time, a long ball arrived behind the defenders from substitute Nuno Mendes to Ronaldo in the area. Ronaldo was swept by a wave of rage, and he protested by throwing the captaincy, which led to him receiving a yellow card.
"CR7" has repeatedly demanded that the goal be counted, but the referee clung to his decision, knowing that goal-line technology and video assistant referee "VR" are not approved in the qualifiers.
"The referee publicly published what he said to me after the match, that he feels ashamed and that it was a terrible mistake," Portugal coach Santos said in a press conference held Monday, on the eve of his team's meeting against Luxembourg in the third round.
The 2016 European Championships began their qualifying campaign with a modest 1-0 victory over Azerbaijan, before falling to a draw against Serbia.
Portugal are second in Group A with 4 points, on goal difference, behind their rivals Serbia, who won the Republic of Ireland 3-2 in the opening round.
In the face of widespread criticism of not relying on goal-line technology or VAR in the qualifiers, UEFA explained the reasons in a statement saying, "In 2019, WEFA suggested to the FIFA to implement the" VR " In the World Cup qualifiers. "
He added, "However, the impact of the pandemic (Corona virus), and for logistical reasons, led him to lease the (VAR) application in the group stage of the European League competition and to withdraw his proposal to apply it in the World Cup qualifiers."
He concluded by saying, "(VAR) was also not used in the European Nations League in the autumn of 2020 and in the European Nations Cup qualifiers."
Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news