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 face retrospective sanctions from FIFA.
Referee Danny Makkelie was hounded by Portugal's players and management staff but he did not change his view that the ball had in fact not crossed the line. “All I can say is that I apologised to the national coach, Mr. Fernando Santos, and to the Portuguese team for what happened”, Makkelie told Portuguese newspaper A Bola. “As a refereeing team, we always work hard to make good decisions. When we are in the news this way, it does not make us happy at all.”
Portugal boss Fernando Santos claimed that Makkelie told him he was 'embarrassed' at the final whistle. “The referee apologized to me in the booth and told me he was embarrassed”, Santos said. “I was in the dressing room with him and apologized to me.”
Makkelie and his colleagues were vilified by the Portuguese press over the weekend, with front pages talking up a 'theft' and also singing the praises of 'VAR, sweet VAR'. In the eyes of Ronaldo, the decision not to award the goal left an 'entire nation harmed'.
Source: Daily Mail
