Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off in the 61st minute for elbowing an opponent as Portugal secured a 2-0 loss against Ireland in their World Cup qualifying match.
The 40-year-old forward was shown a straight red card after clashing with Irish defender Festy Ebosele during a physical duel.
Referee István Kovács deemed the incident violent conduct, reducing Portugal to ten men with nearly 30 minutes remaining.
Parrott T. opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a composed finish, then doubled the advantage just before halftime with a powerful strike following a defensive error.
Portugal pushed hard in the second half but failed to capitalize, with a late offside call in the 90+1′ minute denying them a potential lifeline.
Seven minutes of stoppage time were added, largely due to earlier delays and substitutions.
Portugal still sit atop their qualifying group
Ronaldo’s red card will see him miss Portugal’s next qualifier.
