The controversy over star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo being benched in Portugal’s round of 16 clash against Switzerland at the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar has taken a fresh turn.
The star footballer’s sister Katia Aveiro has added fuel to the fire by stating that she asked the 37-year-old to ditch the national team and come home for the ‘disrespect’ meted out to him.
Katia expressed her feelings over the entire matter and said that while she was glad that Portugal won and new talents rose to the occasion, she couldn’t come to terms with the insult meted out to her brother.
“Portugal won. Thank God. New talents shone. Amazing. Are we going to win this? I believe so!! On the field they shouted for Ronaldo. It wasn’t because Portugal was winning…,” Katia said during an interview.
“And I’m not saying this. The world watched... Why is it? I’m glad Portugal won. And even this doesn’t invalidate the smallness of a large part of the Portuguese people. And this is what is not right, because they continue to curse. They continue to insist on offence and ingratitude. Too sad with what I read and hear not here in Qatar but in my country in his country. It is really sad,” she said.
“I really wanted him to come home, leave the national team and sit next to us so we could hug him and say that everything is fine, remind him of what he conquered and what home he came from,” she added.