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Ronaldo sent off as Republic of Ireland stun Portugal

By Primenewsghana
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Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for the first time in international football as Portugal missed the chance to secure World Cup qualification with a surprise 2-0 defeat by the Republic of Ireland at Aviva Stadium.

After Troy Parrott's first-half double for the home side, Ronaldo was initially shown a yellow card for swinging his elbow into Irish defender Dara O'Shea's back on the hour mark.

However, the Portugal captain's card was upgraded after the video assistant referee (VAR) advised referee Glenn Nyberg to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.

An ignominious end to the five-time Ballon d'Or's night, it was Ronaldo's first red for Portugal in his 226th appearance.

Victory would have sealed Portugal's place at next year's finals with a game to spare, but Parrott's brace was enough to deny Roberto Martinez's side and keep alive the Republic of Ireland's qualifying hopes.

While Portugal are still in pole position to top the group, they will be without Ronaldo for Sunday's home match against Armenia (14:00 GMT), with the length of his suspension to be decided by a disciplinary committee.

The Republic of Ireland, meanwhile, would secure a play-off spot with victory over Hungary in Budapest on Sunday (14:00).