Cristiano Ronaldo was absent as Portugal faced Denmark in the Nations League, but supporters at Parken Stadium still made their feelings for their captain clear.
Portugal visited Denmark in Copenhagen on Thursday for the third round of fixtures in the group stage of the competition. Ronaldo had left the national team’s training camp in the Danish capital on Wednesday after a dispute with Portugal manager Jorge Jesus.
Some fans at Parken held up a banner bearing Ronaldo’s name alongside a heart symbol, offering their support to the former Portugal captain during the latest dispute.
Other supporters had reportedly directed their anger at Jorge Jesus before the match, booing the manager as the team left its hotel to travel to the stadium.
Jesus responded to the criticism by saying he would explain everything that had happened with Ronaldo after Portugal’s match against Norway on Sunday. That game will be the team’s fourth in the Nations League group stage.
Ronaldo departed the Portugal camp on Wednesday and returned to Madrid following the disagreement with Jesus. The dispute centred on his absence from the squad’s previous Nations League match against Norway, played in the second round of the group stage.
The forward made his decision to leave only a few hours after Jesus said he had the final say over team selection and decisions within the national side. The manager also acknowledged that he had failed to keep a promise to Ronaldo to give him some playing time against Norway.
The Denmark fixture was therefore Portugal’s first match since the disagreement became public and since Ronaldo left the camp. Although he was not involved on the pitch, the banner at Parken showed that he remained firmly in the thoughts of some of the travelling supporters.
Jesus has said the full account of the incident will be provided after Sunday’s meeting with Norway, leaving the manager’s explanation as the next significant development in the dispute.