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| July 07, 2006 | Friday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 10, 1427 |
Ronaldo not perturbed by jeering crowd
MUNICH, July 6: Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo said he was not bothered at being booed by the Munich crowd throughout the World Cup semi-final defeat by France on Wednesday.
Ronaldo's every touch of the ball was greeted with a loud chorus of jeers at the Allianz Arena during France's 1-0 win.
They appeared to come from a group of neutral fans in the crowd and followed suggestions that he encouraged the referee to send off England striker Wayne Rooney during their quarter-final.
“I'm not bothered,” the forward told reporters. “It doesn't worry me. I'm just here to do my job and try and help the team.”
Portugal's surprise progress to the semi-finals has been marked by allegations of gamesmanship and diving, with Ronaldo one of the main offenders.
Although his ability to run at defenders can lift the crowd, his tendency to fall over at the slightest touch does little to enhance his reputation.
On Wednesday, he went down theatrically on at least two occasions claiming a penalty as Portugal ran out of ideas.
In the first half, a cross came from the right and Ronaldo was seen to fly to the ground, prompting the entire Portugal bench to run onto the touchline and remonstrate with the referee.—Reuters
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