Was Cristiano Ronaldo unlucky to be sent off vs. Ireland? (2:33)The ‘ESPN FC TV’ crew debate if Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to be sent off in Portugal’s 2-0 defeat against Ireland. (2:33)
Andy Davies, Special to ESPNNov 14, 2025, 06:00 AM ET
The video assistant referee (VAR) causes controversy every week, but how are decisions made and are they correct?
Andy Davies (@andydaviesref) is a former Select Group referee, with over 12 seasons on the elite list, working across the Premier League and Championship. With extensive experience at the elite level, he has operated within the VAR space in the Premier League and offers a unique insight into the processes, rationale and protocols that are delivered on a Premier League matchday.
Referee: Glenn Nyberg VAR: Pol van Boekel Incident: Cristiano Ronaldo sent off for violent conduct following an on-field review (OFR). Time: 59th minute
What happened: With the Republic of Ireland defending their box, a coming together between Republic of Ireland’s Dara O’Shea and Ronaldo, left the Ireland defender on the floor. Ronaldo made a crying gesture and signaled it was a dive, but Swedish referee Nyberg awarded a free kick against him and produced a yellow card for adopting an aggressive attitude.
VAR decision: Having viewed the footage, the VAR recommended an OFR for a possible act of violent conduct by Ronaldo and an upgrade of the sanction from a yellow card to a red.
VAR review: The footage reviewed by the VAR clearly showed a deliberate action by Ronaldo on O’Shea. The process was then to determine if the action was an aggressive act and met the threshold for an OFR.
Boekel recommended an OFR to Nyberg who consulted his pitchside monitor and agreed — he rescinded his original yellow card for Ronaldo and produced a red instead.
The original on-field incident was, in my opinion, not seen fully by Nyberg or his assistants. It was an off-the-ball incident when the play was live, so it was understandably not picked up in real time; the hesitation in their body language and questions over the communication between the officials would have meant it was a process of piecing together what probably happened rather than relying on the facts.
Was Cristiano Ronaldo unlucky to be sent off vs. Ireland? (2:33)The ‘ESPN FC TV’ crew debate if Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to be sent off in Portugal’s 2-0 defeat against Ireland. (2:33)
The ‘ESPN FC TV’ crew debate if Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to be sent off in Portugal’s 2-0 defeat against Ireland. (2:33)
😫🔴¡Inesperado! Expulsan a Cristiano Ronaldo tras codazo dentro del área 📲📺¡Disfruta de todos los Qualifiers de UEFA en VIX! 🟠#EliminatoriasEnVix pic.twitter.com/zPYWSetYdI
However, this is another good example of VAR working as it should.
Ronaldo clearly didn’t agree, and left the field sarcastically applauding the officials.