'He complains a lot' - Cristiano Ronaldo slammed for being 'very difficult' by referee after spat where Al-Nassr star ranted ‘we are the stars’

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.

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."

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."

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