In general, I don’t do blogs pointing out individuals, but sometimes I feel I have to.
Regardless of what you think of Ronaldo as a person, if you really love football, especially international football, you have to agree with me that Ronaldo should never ever play again.
Of course, most of the players have done things that don’t belong on a football pitch, but with Ronaldo, there is something in every match.
I once timed him to see how quick he would go down, as in diving, in a match. It was 73 seconds. He manipulates referees. In the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Sweden, he faked an injury just before Zlatan Ibrahimović was about to score a goal for Sweden, which more than likely would have been the goal to decide the match in Sweden’s favour, Ronaldo went down even though there wasn’t actually a player near him. He called out to the referee, who stopped the match. Miraculously Ronaldo fully recovered, he picked up the ball and eventually scored the winning goal for Portugal. Rather than being able to score the goal, he should have gotten a red card.
In the 2006 World Cup finals, Ronaldo got his Man Utd teammate Wayne Rooney sent off during the England-Portugal game. Rooney did foul a player, but not enough for a red card. However, Ronaldo insisted that Rooney get one, and the referee obliged. It was clear that Ronaldo had set out at the start of the match to get Rooney sent off. After Rooney’s red card, Ronaldo winked at his manager.
Ronaldo dives numerous times every match he plays, often near or in the penalty area, just to force a free kick or penalty.
I know he is a record goal-scoring player, but if you reduce his tally by all the ill-gotten penalties or free kicks, you probably would conclude that he is only a mediocre striker.
What bothers me is that FIFA has this thing called “Fair Play,” but time and time again, they award players who do everything but play fair. Ronaldo is at the top of that list. This is not because he is such a great player but because of marketing. Ronaldo is a great marketing tool and brings in money for FIFA.
You only have to look at last night’s game, Portugal vs Ireland. Ronaldo got away with slapping O’Shea, which was a clear red card, but yet again, he got away with it.
You can call me cynical, but to me, it is too much of a coincidence that Ronaldo was about to break the record for international goals and was not sent off. He missed a penalty, and Ireland was ahead by one goal until the very end of the match. Ronaldo scored in the 89th and 96th minutes, yes you read that right 96th minute. Coincidentally he rejoined Man Utd a few days ago making him the best paid player in the Premiership.
By FIFA’s own rules, Ronaldo should not have been able to break the record last night; he should have been sent off and missed the next match, but hey, FIFA is not about football anymore. It is all about money.
As for FIFA, your play may be fair play—but isn’t it also play fair?
On a different note. This is for the Norwegian FA and the Norwegian Football team.
If you want to protest against the World Cup being hosted in Qatar, don’t show a banner at the start of qualifying matches. If you really want to stand your ground and be principled about it, then withdraw from the competition. I would actually respect that and start a campaign to award the World Cup to you by default. But doing it by holding up flags and banners at the stadiums is a very hollow protest.
History of Sorts 
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