Wigan Athletic icon jumps to defence of Cristiano Ronaldo following shock red card
Roberto Martinez jumped to the defence of Cristiano Ronaldo following the Portugal skipper's controversial sending-off against the Republic of Ireland.
With Portugal trailing 2-0 on the hour mark in Dublin, the ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid man was initially cautioned for elbowing Ireland's Dara O'Shea, who had been holding his opponent.
However, after referee Glenn Nyberg was asked to review the incident by VAR, the official overturned his decision and brandished a straight red.
Ronaldo sarcastically applauded the home crowd - who had been giving him pelters - on his way off, before becoming involved in a war of words with Ireland chief Heimir Hallgrimsson.
Before the game, Ronaldo had accused Hallgrimsson of 'mind games', after the Icelander had urged the official not to be influenced by Portugal's main man.
After the previous meeting in the group last month, Hallgrimsson claimed Ronaldo was 'controlling the referee' – which contributed to the ugly scenes in the technical area as Ronaldo made his way off.
"He complimented me for putting pressure on the referee," said Hallgrimsson during the post-game press conference. "It was his action on the pitch that cost him the red card. It had nothing to do with me - unless I got into his head. This was just a moment of a little silliness from him, I would say."
Unsurprisingly, Martinez - the former Latics FA Cup-winning manager - took the side of Ronaldo during his own media duties.
"The red card is just a captain that has never been sent off before in 226 games - I think that just deserves credit - and I thought it was a bit harsh because he cares about the team," said Martinez.
"He was 60 minutes in the box being grabbed, being pulled, being pushed and obviously when he tries to get away from the defender.
"I think the action looks worse than what it actually is, I don't think it's an elbow, I think it's a full body, but from where the camera is, it looks like an elbow. But we accept it.
"The only thing that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth is your coach was talking about the aspect of the referees being influenced, and then a big centre-half falls on the floor so dramatically at the turn of Cristiano's body."