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Arsenal have a whole host of stars away on international duty this week as fans watch from behind the sofa in the hopes their squad returns to north London free of injuries, and one fan favourite will be coming away from national team duty with a spring in his step.

Arsenal players away on international duty

Mikel Arteta is already without Mikel Merino and Declan Rice in midfield for the north London derby against Tottenham, so will be praying his midfielders in particular return to London Colney in one piece.

On that note, Bukayo Saka featured for England as the Three Lions cruised past the Republic of Ireland 2-0 in Dublin on Saturday, and the winger was on the recieiving end of a couple of nasty tackles from Robbie Brady, but came away unscathed.

Martin Odegaard’s Norway meanwhile face off against Kazakstan and Austria, the former of which resulted in a disappointing 0-0 draw in which the skipper played the full 90 minutes.

Thomas Partey’s Ghana are in 2025 AFCON qualifiying action, as the 31 year-old played the full game in a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Angola last Thursday, with a chance to redeem themselves on Monday against Niger.

The standout result from this international break from a Gunners perspective is undoubtedly what Kai Havertz and Germany produced this weekend, crushing Dominik Szoboszlai's Hungary 5-0 in a Nations League group match, as Arsenal's 25 year-old found himself in a new role and shone.

German media praise Havertz in new number ten role

While his finishing left a little to be desired – the former Chelsea star missed two "big chances" and hit the woodwork twice – he did get on the scoresheet from the penalty spot, and it was his general play as a number ten that earned him praise from the press in his homeland.

As shared by TBR Football, Frankfurter Rundschau said Havertz's general performance was "world class" outside of his inability to finish his chances, while Sky Germany praised his "good movement" and "good ideas".

Pass accuracy

92 per cent

Shots total

Four

Big chances missed

Two

Penalties won

One

Duels won

Seven

Fouls drawn

Five

Havertz, of course, has been forced to make the striker role his own in north London after they neglected to sign an out and out centre-forward, and has also shone for Arteta in a left centre-mid role, but featured here as a true number playmaker, sitting just behind West Ham target man Niclas Füllkrug.

Arsenal dealt injury blow with potential fourth star set to miss Tottenham

The Gunners could be without a quartet of senior players for their trip across north London.

2 ByEmilio Galantini Sep 3, 2024

Whether Arteta ever chooses to adopt a slightly different system than his usual 4-3-3 in order to fit Havertz into this playmaker role remains to be seen, but having a player so full of confidence thriving in a variety of positions can only be a good thing for the manager ahead of such a huge clash against rivals Spurs.

Spinner’s fifty and four-for helps seal victory as Warwickshire stay in hunt for top-two spot

ECB Reporters' Network30-May-2021

Danny Briggs’ 4 for 38 were his best innings figures for Warwickshire•Getty Images

Warwickshire blew Group One of the LV= Insurance County Championship wide open after beating Nottinghamshire by 170 runs in a pulsating contest at Edgbaston. Set a victory target of 309 in 74 overs, the visitors were bowled out for 138 with eight overs to spare as spinner Danny Briggs followed up his important runs in the match with a decisive spell of 24.3-14-36-4.After the Bears took their overnight 201 for 6 to 264 all out, with Briggs scoring a round 50 and Michael Burgess 80, they bowled with collective skill to close out a thrilling victory. At 89 for 5, Nottinghamshire had no choice but to abandon their quest for a fourth successive victory and their hopes of defending out for a draw were scuppered as the Bears maintained the pressure with disciplined bowling supported by excellent fielding.Related

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Keogh, Zaib ensure no nerves for Northants in Hove stroll

Surrey flex their muscle with dominant win despite Tattersall defiance

“It was a great game on a good pitch and a good contest between bat and ball for four days which is what you want,” Briggs said. “Then for us to come out on top at the end is just great.”It was pleasing for me to have an opportunity for a long bowl on the final day and really embrace it and push the game home with the support of the other bowlers. We bowled and caught really well and I think the calmness we showed the whole way through was probably what enabled us to win.”In the morning, Burgess and Briggs took their partnership to 103 in 33 overs before the former top-edged a sweep at Liam Patterson-White to slip. Craig Miles was soon run out by Ben Slater’s direct hit, before Luke Fletcher rattled the stumps of Briggs and Liam Norwell.Norwell soon struck with the ball as Haseeb Hameed edged to wicketkeeper Burgess and two big wickets fell in successive overs when Ben Duckett swept Briggs to Rob Yates at deep square and Ben Slater nicked Tim Bresnan behind. A brilliant leg-side stumping by Burgess off seamer Olly Hannon-Dalby dismiss the dangerous Joe Clarke and when Steven Mullaney pulled Hannon-Dalby to deep square, Notts were five down and in trouble.”We feel absolutely gutted,” Notts head coach, Peter Moores, said. “They bowled well but I think, in some ways, we caused our own demise a little bit, but we have got to dust ourselves down and come back strong against Essex next week.”It was a tight game all the way through. Probably the key time was the third day when they played really well but we managed to stay in the game. Then we cleaned them out this morning to leave all three results possible but I think we got a bit distracted by looking for the win a little bit when we first started batting and made some mistakes.”Lyndon James and Tom Moores ate up valuable time in a stand of 16 overs, but when both fell in quick succession, Moores leaving a straight one from Will Rhodes and James edging Briggs behind, the visitors were vulnerable again. Briggs winkled out Zak Chappell, caught at silly point, for post-tea figures of 10-10-0-2, and Patterson-White’s 72 minutes of defiance ended rather unluckily when a defensive shot off Miles dropped the ball back on to the stumps.That left Nos. 10 and 11 with 11 overs to survive – and they managed just three before Fletcher was bowled an absolute pearler from Biggs to the delight of a boisterous crowd in the Birmingham sunshine, giving the spinner his best figures since joining Warwickshire over the winter.”Having the fans back in the ground was amazing,” Briggs said. “There was a great at atmosphere. It was my first experience of having the crowd behind me at Edgbaston and I loved it. They got behind us when we needed it and it was great to see the excitement in the stands.”

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has provided an update after Kylian Mbappe was forced off injured during their win over Atalanta.

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• Mbappe subbed off in 35th minute
• Frenchman had opened scoring
• Will undergo tests on Wednesday

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Frenchman was substituted in the 35th minute after going down with a non-contact injury in Tuesday's Champions League encounter. He was able to walk off on his own, but it was still a concerning sight for Real Madrid and their supporters.

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  Mbappe has caught plenty of flak this season, but he's found a good run of form after scoring three goals in his past four games. That includes the opener in Bergamo, with the 25-year-old producing a great touch before firing home for his 12th goal of the season. He'll be desperate to avoid any time on the sidelines.

• WHAT ANCELOTTI SAID

  "[Mbappe] has a strain, some discomfort in his thigh," Ancelotti told Movistar after the match, per ESPN. "We'll have to see. It doesn't look serious, but I don't know, we'll see tomorrow. He couldn't sprint. It was bothering him, so we had to substitute him."

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  It was still a successful night for Ancelotti and his side as they ran out 3-2 winners, with Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham also on the scoresheet. They still have work to do to secure a top-eight finish in the league phase table and an automatic place in the round of 16, however. Los Blancos currently sit 18th, occupying an unseeded play-off position with two games remaining.

Australia’s national selector Trevor Hohns has admitted to being “very concerned” about the lack of Test cricket the team will play ahead of the Ashes next season.With the tour of South Africa last month postponed, there will be a 10-month gap between Tests when they are due to play Afghanistan in a one-off match in late November before facing England.That game against Afghanistan could be the only red-ball cricket those players also involved in the T20 World Cup will have ahead of the Ashes due to the likely need to quarantine on their return from India.For those not in the T20 set-up, Hohns expects there to be a decent amount of Sheffield Shield cricket available in the first part of the next season but he conceded it is not an ideal situation with England having a full Test season ahead of them at home.Related

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• Head and Wade lose Cricket Australia contracts, Green included

• Talking points: Batters told to earn their spot, pace rotation on agenda

“Very concerned about that, no doubt, and hopeful that they’ll be plenty of Shield cricket – and I believe there will be – programmed leading up to the first Test,” he said. “However, that won’t help some of our players as hopefully they’ll be fully engaged in the T20 World Cup.”It’s a difficult one, England are certainly playing plenty of Test cricket and we haven’t got anything on the plate so it’s a concern.”There will be at least two Test batting positions vacant leading into the next home summer following the announcement of a trimmed down central contracts list that only included three specialist Test batters – David Warner, Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne – along with allrounder Cameron Green.An opening partner for Warner will need to be found – Will Pucovski will be the frontrunner if he recovers from shoulder reconstruction – along with a middle-order batter to fill the No. 5 spot which rotated between Travis Head and Matthew Wade against India, both of who lost their contracts.Will Pucovski made a promising start to his Test career but has since undergone shoulder surgery•Getty Images

“There’s no secret that there are positions available whether that’s middle order or the top of the list,” Hohns said. “Yes, it is a concern because there’s no standout but that’s what we are challenging our players to really put their hands up at the start of next season then get into the Australia side and perform well when they do.”There may also be conversations about whether the bowling attack needs freshening up with Hohns indicating that rotation is likely to be forced on the fast bowlers to ensure they aren’t flagging towards the end of the series as happened against India where Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins played throughout alongside Nathan Lyon. While Green’s introduction provided somebody to share the burden he did not take a wicket in the series.James Pattinson was retained on the contracts list despite playing just four Tests in the last five years with Hohns terming him “our premier back-up fast bowler” although Jhye Richardson and the uncontracted Michael Neser will also come into contention.The initial part of the new contract period will be heavily focused on T20 with the World Cup in October and a number of the players on the list are likely to only feature in white-ball cricket. Hohns said that the idea of offering separate white and red-ball deals had been floated but it was still some way off being an option.”It’s an interesting conversation and while we have mentioned that we are not quite ready for that yet, but it may progress to that down the track because it’s becoming more obvious that players are specializing in the different formats. Certainly something to be looked at down the track.”There’s a little bit of focus on T20 cricket but we also try to make sure we remain focused on the fact that Test cricket to us, and hopefully to our players, is the prime form of the game. We see that as the top of tree, but there is a T20 World Cup coming up so we’ve had to cover a core group of players we think will feature in this list.”

Manchester United have been busy this summer ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, with Erik ten Hag already being given two big signings in the shape of Leny Yoro from Lille, and Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna.

Further recruitment will be needed though if United are to deliver a return to the Champions League qualification spots this season, having finished 8th last season, and eight points off of the top four.

One of the positions being linked recently was right back, with rumors of interest in Bayern Munich defender Noussair Mazraoui to replace/compete with current United right back, Diogo Dalot.

Manchester United transfer news

According to a report from MailOnline, Manchester United are interested in Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries, and have re-visited the proposed swap deal, which involves Aaron Wan-Bissaka. However, the report does state that these talks are not currently advanced.

It also claims that the defender's contract is set to expire in 2025, and this could be seen as a good opportunity for United to pounce on a target they have 'been admirers of for several years'.

Dumfries made 36 appearances for Inter Milan in all competitions last season, scoring four goals, providing six assists, and contributing to 17 clean sheets.

Dumfries vs Mazraoui comparison

Mazraoui made 29 appearances in all competitions, scoring zero goals, providing four assists, and contributing to 10 clean sheets in his 1,982 minutes played for Bayern Munich last season.

Dumfries, who was described as "breathless" by Micah Richards, for his impact down the right-hand side for the Netherlands in Euro 2024, offering width in attack, and brilliantly timed runs going forwards.

It is seen from the stats this season of both players, the Inter star offers more threat going forwards, having that goalscoring ability, as well as the quality to provide crosses into the box and create chances for others.

Stats (per 90 mins)

Dumfries

Mazraoui

Non-Penalty Goals

0.18

0.00

Shots Total

1.42

0.83

Assists

0.23

0.20

Shot Creating Actions

2.48

2.64

Progressive Carries

2.76

2.49

Touches (Att Pen)

3.95

2.25

Tackles

1.15

2.39

Aerials Won

1.84

1.46

Stats taken from FBref

Dumfries has the attacking edge from fullback over Mazraoui, bettering him in goals, assists, shots, progressive carries and touches in the penalty area, as well as having a better aerials won metric, which can be used offensively and defensively.

Mazraoui's attacking numbers are still good, creating 2.64 shots per 90 (shot-creating actions), and still providing 0.20 assists per 90, which ranks in the top 15% of fullbacks in the top five leagues. He also doubles Dumfries tackles per 90, but often playing in a back five at Inter Milan, his defensive responsbilities aren't as big, compared to Mazraoui in a back four.

Dumfries ranks in the top 5% for most attacking metrics for a fullback, whilst still having the physicality, speed, and frame of a top-class defender. His ability to contribute to both sides of the ball at such a high level, makes him an excellent prospect at right-back for United.

This could then keep Dalot on his toes as he would have a player with the potential to replace him in the XI to compete with throughout the season.

Sky Sports: Man Utd want £21m Ugarte rival who's the "monster" Mainoo needs

He seems set to leave his club this summer

ByJoe Nuttall Jul 28, 2024

أفادت تقارير صحيفة أن أحد أندية الدوري المصري يجري مفاوضات مع نادٍ مجري من أجل التعاقد مع مهاجم أوروبي شاب لتدعيم صفوفه في الميركاتو الشتوي الحالي.

وزعمت صحيفة “Nemzeti Sport” المجرية أن مهاجم نادي فيهيرفار ومنتخب سلوفينيا، نيجك جراديشار، هداف الفريق بسبعة أهداف في الدوري المجري على رادار أحد الفرق المصرية.

جراديشار، البالغ من العمر 22 عامًا، الذي انضم إلى فيهيرفار في فبراير 2024، سجل 9 أهداف في 36 مع فريقه، ما جذب اهتمام عدة أندية خارجية.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تطورات إصابة يحيى عطية الله وموعد عودته لتدريبات الأهلي

وتُقدر القيمة السوقية لجراديشار بنحو 800 ألف يورو وفقًا لموقع ترانسفير ماركت، إلا أن التقرير يشير إلى احتمالية انتقاله مقابل مبلغ أعلى إذا تم الاتفاق.

ويواصل المهاجم تدريباته مع فيهيرفار بالوقت الحالي، وأظهر تألقًا مؤخرًا بهدف وصناعة آخر في مباراة ودية ضد نادي تيكستيلاك الصربي.

رغم الاهتمام من قبل الأندية الخارجية، لم يصدر نادي فيهيرفار أي تعليق رسمي حول الصفقة، متمسكًا بسياسة عدم التعليق على شائعات الانتقالات، ولم تكشف الصحيفة عن هوية النادي المصري المهتم بضم جراديشار خلال سوق الانتقالات الحالية مع العلم أن الأهلي يبحث عن مهاجم منذ بداية السوق.

 

Dananjaya, who was banned for a year in 2019, was cleared by a panel that viewed footage of his new action

Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Jan-2021

Akila Dananjaya was suspended from international cricket for a year•Associated Press

Akila Dananjaya has been cleared to bowl in international cricket after an ICC “expert panel” concluded that the flex in his elbow is now within the permitted limit, following remedial work on his bowling action.Dananjaya had suffered a 12-month suspension from international cricket after his action was found to be illegal on two separate occasions within the space of a year. That suspension period ended in August last 2020, but Dananjaya was still required to show the ICC that his action had been remodelled to comply with the maximum limit of 15 degrees of elbow flexion. As travel to an ICC-accredited biomechanics lab was not possible due to Covid-19 restrictions, Dananjaya was cleared by a panel that viewed footage of his new action. Sri Lanka Cricket had provided the footage.Although still suspended from internationals at the time, Dananjaya did play in the Lanka Premier League late last year, bowling largely his googly and legbreak, while avoiding the stock offbreak that was understood to have been the delivery that ran afoul of the flexion limit. His returns in that tournament had been modest, however. He claimed only two wickets and conceded runs at 10.56 an over,Prior to his suspensions, Dananjaya had been Sri Lanka’s leading spinner in the limited-overs formats, and was also beginning to be utilised increasingly in Tests. The suspension was a substantial setback for his career, and if he is to return to international level, he must now compete for places with the likes of left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya and legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga.

Australia’s Test captain, vice-captain on how BLM has opened up their world around sensitive issues

Daniel Brettig24-Dec-2020Australia’s Test captain Tim Paine and vice-captain Pat Cummins have admitted to spending most of their professional lives in blissful ignorance of racism in the society around them. Cummins revealed he had at times been guilty of making the sorts of hurtful “one liners” to players of colour that the national team have pledged to stamp out.Paine and Cummins were speaking as part of a series of videos put together by the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) and Cricket Australia (CA), under the banner of “Reflect Forward” as Australia’s national sport reckons with a long history of misdeeds in terms of inclusiveness. CA’s efforts to recognise Aboriginal Australia have been demonstrated by how both men’s and women’s teams now commence every series with a barefoot circle acknowledgement of first nations people, while the Johnny Mullagh Medal will be presented to the player of the MCG Test.

“I probably just turned a blind eye to it a little bit, but since this has sort of got going I have taken time to speak to teammates — whether it’s in Tasmania or Hurricanes or club cricket — about how they feel about it and how it affects them.”Australia captain Tim Paine on Black Lives Matters

The Australian women’s team have already broken down numerous barriers in their openness to discussing such issues, and it has taken time for the men to follow suit. The national team coach Justin Langer has conceded more should have been done earlier in enhancing his players’ understanding, something underlined by how Paine and Cummins spoke. Cummins, articulate and well-rounded, spoke volumes when he admitted to making comments he now regrets.”Just taking that extra second to think about what you say or do,” he said when asked about how he counselled young people to handle racism. “You might try to throw in a joke and I’ve definitely done this in the past, you say a little one liner or something off the top of your head and then just making sure you actually reflect on that and go actually ‘that’s not me’ or ‘I’ve said the wrong thing there, I don’t believe that, I don’t know why I’ve said that, and I hate how I’ve made that person feel’.”So try and fix that, try to make it a learning experience, but as a kid, just make up your own mind, your own opinions, don’t just go with the flow of other people around you. And if you do something you’re not comfortable with or you see something you’re not comfortable with, try and find a way you can get your message across to them that hang on, I don’t think this is acceptable, I hope you can think about that and reflect on that and maybe be better next time.”While Paine’s leadership has been strengthened by his own worldliness, having experienced life outside the elite end of the game to the point of considering retirement in 2017, he also spoke of how little he had actually considered issues of racism for the vast majority of his career.”Mine has only shifted in the last 12 months since the whole Black Lives Matter thing started to take off,” Paine said. “I was probably someone who, if I am totally honest, had my head in the sand a little bit and because it probably wasn’t a part of my world I didn’t have it as a big issue. That’s really opened my eyes to things and issues our Indigenous people, black people and people of all sort of different cultures around the world go through.Tim Paine says his awareness around BLM has greatly increased since the movement has gathered steam•Ryan Pierse/Getty Images”For me, again, I probably just turned a blind eye to it a little bit, but since this has sort of got going I have taken time to speak to teammates — whether it’s in Tasmania or Hurricanes or club cricket — about how they feel about it and how it affects them. I probably didn’t realise how bad it was for people in our day. You saw it as something that was a long time ago and almost that attitude of ‘what can I do to help that anyway’. For me my learning has come from speaking to teammates, understanding more how it affects them and how I can help them through that.”The platform we have now as Australian cricketers, not that we can fix every issue, but we can use that platform to make more of us aware of it and hopefully more people who are like me that it doesn’t affect on a day to day basis, to realise there’s a lot of people out there that it does and we can help them in a small way. My learnings are how much it affects some of my teammates and me being unaware of that for probably 15 years as a professional cricketer. So just the shift in that now.”Cummins spoke of how he had recently read the seminal Bruce Pascoe book , which has helped raise fresh perspectives on the intricacies of Aboriginal Australia in the years before European settlement of the continent.”The biggest shift I have had in the past year or so is just around our Indigenous culture here in Australia,” Cummins said. “Obviously at school you learn a little bit about it, I remember reading about the Stolen Generation, small parts; the boomerang, the didgeridoo, dream time, but never really in depth. It was always ‘that’s the past’, that’s what that culture was, not that it still exists.”But the biggest shift for me was . It’s a great book that came out a few years ago and it talks about how productive, how intelligent and how incredible the culture was at not only surviving, but thriving. How closely they were intertwined with the land. It kind of shifted my perspective. I guess I had just thought a lot of Indigenous people were foragers and just surviving off the land, but I found out they would burn certain fires to make sure the bush survived, they would look after certain flora and fauna.”They had this whole eco system that was so finely tuned over 60,000 years. It shifted my perspective to wow these cultures are absolute experts on this land we live in, and we don’t really tap into it nowadays. Just huge admiration and respect for the history. Australia has all this history I didn’t even know about a year ago and I feel real proud to be an Aussie.”Paine added that in his experience, the calling out of racist language needed to be done in a way that would reduce, wherever possible, the amount of hurt felt by the victim. “I’ve heard a few throwaway lines in the gym or at training over the years. The simple thing is to call it out,” Paine said. “For me it is just going over to them, rather than making a big scene over it, which can make the situation worse for the person that’s had the comment made to.”A couple of times it’s been literally going over to a teammate one-on-one. The ones I have been around haven’t meant to insult the person, it’s been a throwaway line, someone thinking they have been funny because it is something that’s been in sports change rooms for a long, long time.”Tap them on the shoulder and let them know the comment has probably been hurtful and harmful to the person it was aimed at. A quiet conversation and make them aware it is not on and make sure they speak to the person it was aimed at.”

Kevin De Bruyne is reportedly eyeing a move to MLS, with San Diego FC's new project appealing to the Manchester City star.

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De Bruyne's contract expires in 2025'Concrete' proposal from San Diego FCU.S. move appeals to Belgian starFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

De Bruyne was heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in the summer – and he reportedly agreed personal terms with one Saudi Pro League side – before those rumours were put to bed. But with less than a year remaining on his City contract, the Belgian's future remains a hot topic. According to Sky Sports journalist Sacha Tavolieri, the midfielder is "unlikely" to extend his contract at the Etihad Stadium and could leave after 10 seasons, but the United States, not Saudi Arabia, will be his destination.

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De Bruyne is reportedly interested in a "concrete" proposal from new MLS franchise San Diego FC, who will enter the competition in 2025. The 33-year-old is said to have grown tired of the "intensity and frenetic pace" of English football and would like to move to the United States, which is proving to be a perfect setting for Lionel Messi in his twilight years. San Diego FC could also offer De Bruyne a salary similar to his current wages at City.

DID YOU KNOW?

The report adds that De Bruyne's wife Michele Lacroix couldn't see herself raising her three children with the Belgian star in Saudi Arabia. However, De Bruyne believes they could all live a peaceful life together in the United States.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR DE BRUYNE?

De Bruyne hasn't played since September 18 after suffering a groin injury, and he won't be ready for Wednesday's Champions League fixture against Sparta Prague. Pep Guardiola was unable to confirm when the Belgium international will return to action for City when he spoke to the media this week.

A referee has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo is 'very difficult' to deal with on the field after the duo engaged in a spat.

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Referee reveals spat with RonaldoAl-Nassr star had two goals disallowedDuo had confrontation in the tunnel at half-timeFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Referee Said Martinez has discussed an altercation he had during a Saudi Pro League match with Ronaldo. The Honduran referee has overseen several games that the renowned Portuguese forward has participated in. Martinez disclosed that he had disallowed two of Ronaldo's goals, which infuriated the striker to the point where he bombarded the referee.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT MARTINEZ SAID

Speaking to Mediotiempo, Martinez said: "Cristiano Ronaldo is very difficult due to his temperament. 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 10 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'. 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."

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Martinez then revealed that he reviewed the disallowed goals and went up to Ronaldo in the tunnel at half-time, and said: "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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WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO?

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner will be in action when Portugal take on Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday, October 15.