Following the pair’s horrifying collision, Martin Dubravka has refrained from placing the blame — quite literally — at Cristiano Ronaldo’s feet.
The two former Manchester United teammates got into a physical altercation while Portugal and Slovakia were playing international football. The current Al-Nassr star miskicked, and Dubravka sprinted out to grab the ball. He arrived first, only to have Ronaldo slam into him with a studs-up sliding challenge.
Dubravka was left in excruciating pain and required medical attention, as the Portuguese forward was booked and then granted a reprieve by VAR amid cries for his dismissal.
Dubravka has now provided his perspective on the situation and shared what was going through his head at the time.
The goalkeeper explained to reporters that “He (Ronaldo) hit me in the shoulder, the neck and the chest.
“I just closed my eyes and prayed that he [Ronaldo] wouldn’t hit me in the face as well. When I saw his studs coming at me, I didn’t even look.”
However, Dubravka has refused to blame Ronaldo for the heavy collision and insists that it was just part and parcel of the game.
He added: “These are situations when the goalkeeper closes his eyes and tries only to block the shot, and he, as a striker, has to go after such a ball. I don’t blame him.
“It’s sport, it’s football. Situations like this belong to it.
CR7 commits a foul on Martin Dubravka.#NUFC
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“Of course, he realised he hit me. He asked me if I was OK. I take it sportingly. I try to keep a clear head in these situations. It is a contact sport. Today, when we have VAR at our disposal. There is no point in getting into it.”
Whilst Ronaldo avoided a red card, he will still have to serve a suspension. The yellow card that he was shown was his third of the current qualifying campaign, meaning that he is now banned.
That will see him miss Monday’s clash with Luxembourg in the Algarve. It will be the first international match that he has missed since a 4-0 victory against Nigeria in November 2022.
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