The referee at the centre of Portugal’s 2022 World Cup qualifying row has revealed he apologised for an error of judgement in refusing to award Cristiano Ronaldo’s late strike against Serbia.

With the match finely poised at 2-2 it appeared Ronaldo had secured three vital points when he rounded goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic to score.

Defender Stefan Mitrovic raced to clear on the goal line and hacked the ball away, leaving the officials to declare it had not gone over the line and to continue playing.
The decision caused Ronaldo to storm off, furious at the officiating, and he could yet face retrospective sanctions from FIFA.