Cristiano Ronaldo slammed by Saudi referee after tunnel clash

Referee Said Martinez has admitted Cristiano Ronaldo is "very difficult" to work with on the pitch after the pair clashed in the tunnel at half-time during a game.

Honduras national Martinez recalled an Al Nassr match in which he, with the help of VAR, disallowed two Ronaldo goals for offside, sparking a furious reaction from the Portuguese superstar.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is very difficult due to his temperament," he told Rely Maradiaga. "He is a very competitive person, which makes him feel there's a lot of injustice towards him, so he complains a lot.

"We disallowed two goals for him, with VAR and everything, but there was a play that upset him because he felt he was fouled in attack, leading to a goal against them. They were losing.

"He stayed ten metres away from me and said: 'It's always the same with you lot, you always think you're the stars, but we don't bring you here to be the stars, we are the stars', in perfect Spanish. He started calmly but then got agitated and I just looked at him provocatively to see if he would get closer to me, but he didn't."

Ronaldo is alleged to have confronted Martinez in the tunnel at half-time, shouting at the official for what he felt were incorrect decisions.

Martinez continued: "After checking the VAR, I asked him to come closer. Cristiano is Cristiano, and if he doesn't want to come, he won't.

"But he came over to where I was and I said to him: 'You're a great player, but what you said at half-time isn't right. I respect you a lot, but we're here to do our job just like you are'.

"He replied: 'Yes, you're right; it wasn't the right way to express myself. I apologise'. Yes, he apologised to me and didn't complain about anything in the second half and even scored a fantastic free-kick goal."

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