New angle of Cristiano Ronaldo challenge that led to red card

A new angle of Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card challenge during Portugal’s defeat to the Republic of Ireland last night has emerged, leading to arguably more questions than answers.

The 40-year-old forward was shown a straight red during his country’s 2-0 defeat away to Ireland, meaning he’ll now miss the first game of the 2026 World Cup group stage through suspension.

But new footage has now emerged showing Ronaldo tussling with Dara O’Shea, and clearly lashing out at the defender.

Still, was he just trying to shrug him off as he constantly pulled on his shirt? Take a look for yourselves in the video clip below…

? NEW angle of that Cristiano Ronaldo challenge that led to a red card! ?

Was this the right decision…? ?? pic.twitter.com/NCuOuj7pbn

— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) November 14, 2025

Ronaldo perhaps shouldn’t have retaliated like he did, but there’s also surely no question that O’Shea fouled him here and perhaps also went down a little overly dramatically.

Cristiano Ronaldo dealt early World Cup blow

Ronaldo’s Portugal side are likely to qualify for next summer’s World Cup in the United States, but they’ll now have to be without their all-time leading scorer for their first group game of the tournament.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid man will surely be playing in his last World Cup next summer, and he’ll want to go out on a high by winning it.

Portugal have a good squad accompanying Ronaldo, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Vitinha, Ruben Neves and Nuno Mendes all sure to be key players for the national team.

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Still, Ronaldo is a special player and it won’t be easy for them if they have to make do without him, even if it is just for one group game.

Ronaldo accepted his punishment last night, making his way from the field without too much fuss, but he must be frustrated to be missing the start of what will be such an important tournament for him in his career.