'No penalty, no party!' - Fans accuse Cristiano Ronaldo of 'ghosting' for Portugal and 'attacking referee' as he erupts with fury on way down tunnel after Slovenia loss

Ronaldo could not hide his frustrations after seeing his Portugal team surprisingly beaten 2-0 by Slovenia in an international friendly. The captain was back in the team after being rested against Sweden last time out but contributed little to the cause. His performance did not go unnoticed on social media, with supporters accusing the 39-year-old accusing of "ghosting" and also criticising his behaviour towards the match officials, as he was seen erupting with fury on his way down the tunnel.

Tuesday's defeat saw Robert Martinez lose for the first time as Portugal boss, with Ronaldo's performance blamed for the team's poor showing. OTIS_XO wrote on X: "It’s crazy how incredibly mid Portugal are whenever Ronaldo starts for them. At this point I feel the only reason they call him up is to sell seats…man is an instagram model/influencer."

Another supporter, idkjustlooking5, pointed out how Ronaldo even helped Slovenia score: "Lmao Ronaldo literally lost the ball for no reason and it led directly to slovenias first goal hahahah."

Lionel Messi fan breathMessi23 also felt Ronaldo's display helped his opponents: "Ronaldo in Portugal team makes the opponent play like prime Barcelona!"

And user SemperFiMessi blasted the superstar's behaviour at the end of the game: "Cristiano Ronaldo left the pitch attacking the referee after ghosting against Slovenia. No Penalty, No Party !!!😡"

Martinez insisted afterwards the result was not important and he had still learned a lot from the match. He told RTP: "Slovenia played very well. The objective tonight was not to win, but to experiment. When we conceded the goal the reaction was difficult. After these 90 minutes we are even more prepared for the European Championship. It helps because it gives information. We need to have options on the list. The call-up was positive, with the opportunity to work with the players individually. We don't like losing, but the objective of the game was to gather information. "

Martinez saw his run of 11 straight wins ended by Slovenia as Portugal were beaten for the first time since exiting the 2022 World Cup. It may have only been a friendly but Ronaldo was clearly frustrated by the game as late goals from Adam Gnezda Cerin and Timi Elsnik handed Slovenia a famous win. Ronaldo was back in the team after being handed a rest but Martinez was without both Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva and the two Premier League stars were missed.

Portugal and Ronaldo will finalise their preparations for Euro 2024 in June with friendlies against Finland, Republic of Ireland and Croatia. Martinez's side will be one of the favourites for glory in Germany, with Portugal set to face Turkey, Czech Republic and Georgia in the group stages.