Published
on December 25, 2022
Former South Korea head coach, Paulo Bento has opened up on Portugal captain, Cristiano Ronaldo’s heated moment with Cho Gue-sung during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Ronaldo went into the 2022 World Cup with a point to prove after his contract with Manchester United was terminated by mutual consent.
The 37-year-old began the tournament on a positive note, scoring in Portugal’s 3-2 victory against the Black Stars of Ghana in their first game.
However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was then relegated to the bench for Portugal’s knockout games before they were eliminated from the World Cup.
Portugal then head coach Fernando Santos notably dropped Ronaldo after he reacted angrily to being substituted in the Selecao’s final group-stage game against South Korea.
Addressing the incident after the game, Santos claimed that Ronaldo was responding to South Korea’s Gue-sung for allegedly insulting him.
But Bento, who was South Korea’s coach at the World Cup, has now suggested that there was no provocation from Gue-sung.
According to him, Gue-sung was used to cover up the tensions between Ronaldo and Santos.
“On the bench, in relation to my player, I did not notice anything at all. I know I said something to him [Ronaldo] when he left, but everything that was done around that, the South Korean player was somehow used to conceal other things and that is not pleasant,” Bento told Portuguese sports daily Record.
He added, “I have nothing to do with what happened, but it’s not honest for us to justify our actions to others. This does not seem ethical, right or beautiful to me.”
