Ronaldo’s war of words with Heimir

Portugal captain says Hallgrimsson’s ref comments are made to take the pressure off his Ireland side

13 Nov 2025 - Irish Independent

AIDAN FITZMAURICE AND DANIEL McDONNELL

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has accused Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson of trying to play mind games ahead of the sides’ World Cup qualifier in Dublin tonight after the Irish boss claimed that Ronaldo would attempt to influence the referee.

Hallgrimsson had warned the match officials to stay strong in the face of the influence of Ronaldo in tonight’s tie.

The Ireland camp were aggrieved by the prominent role of the Portuguese superstar in Lisbon last month where his side were awarded a controversial penalty that was saved by Caoimhín Kelleher.

Criticism

There’s also a bit of previous from 2021 when the performance of Slovenian referee Matej Jug in a Ronaldo-inspired 2-1 win drew strong criticism.

Hallgrimsson has generally shied away from speaking negatively about match officials, but he acknowledged that Swedish official Glenn Nyberg will have a role to play in proceedings – and added that the sold-out Dublin crowd can also be a factor.

“Obviously it’s up to the referee if he takes part in a play but the thing in Portugal, he [Ronaldo] was not only controlling the referee, he was controlling the whole stadium so all the fans supported his actions and the referee just kind of played along,” said Hallgrimsson.

“I hope it will be vice-versa now we are in the Aviva but obviously a player shouldn’t be refereeing, it should be the officials doing the refereeing. I hope the people here will see that and recognise that if they want to affect the game they shouldn’t at least affect the referee.”

When that was put to Ronaldo at his appearance at an eve of match press conference at a rain-soaked Aviva Stadium last night, he snapped back.

“I think he tried to make pressure to the referee because, for sure, he’s a smart guy, he knows where they can push,” Ronaldo said of Hallgrimsson.

“I’ve been in the game so many years and I know how the coach thinks and how they try to make pressure or take away the pressure from their players, It’s normal. Because they [Ireland] know if they lose, they are out.

“So they try to make things around the game, to try to do things. We have to be prepared for a tough game. I think it will be very similar to the game they play in Lisbon. And they have the chance. They are a good team. So we are prepared.

“I think Portugal will have a good game and we’re going to win the match. I agree with some of his [Hallgrimsson’s] statements. I know when I play badly or well. I don’t agree so much with other words, especially those of the referee. Even if the team is physical, the quality of the football has to prevail. They are simply words.

“What I expect is for the stadium to boo me, I certainly hope they do. It takes the pressure off other players. I want to enjoy another game for the national team. They’ll be playing with the fans and they’ll be more enthusiastic. The throw-ins will look like corner kicks, and we know that’s how these British teams usually are. It’s going to be a battle,” Ronaldo added as his side chase down automatic qualification.

“I really hope we can qualify on Thursday. The game isn’t decisive, but it feels like it is. If we win, we’re qualified.”