Cristiano Ronaldo throws captain's armband down in rage at wrongly disallowed Portugal winner

Cristiano Ronaldo caused a storm on Saturday evening, racing off the pitch and throwing his captain's armband in disgust after his last-minute goal was incorrectly ruled out by the officials in Portugal's 2-2 draw with Serbia.

The Juventus star looked to have snatched a last-ditch winner for the Selecao, but the referee did not spot that the ball had crossed the line before it was hooked away from goal, and without the presence of goal-line technology, the official waved play on - much to the 36-year-old's disbelief.

Ronaldo was left absolutely stunned by the decision, remonstrating with the officials before throwing his armband to the ground in disgust and storming off the pitch. The superstar took to Instagram to apologise for any possible harm caused by his reaction, but believes 'an entire nation' was harmed by the referee's performance.

"Being captain of the Portugal team is one of the greatest prides and privileges of my life. I always give and will give everything for my country, that will never change.

"But these are difficult times to deal with, especially when we feel that an entire nation is being harmed. Lift your head and face the next challenge now! Come on, Portugal!"

Portugal and Ronaldo are certainly right to feel hard done by after this calamitous decision, and coach Fernando Santos even stated that the referee apologised for the mistake at the end of the game.

"The referee just apologised to me," Santos said, as cited by Jornal de Notícias. "It is the second time. It is the second time that in a qualifying match they've apologised to me after the game. 

"The ball was more than half a metre inside the goal. That does not eliminate what we did not do as well or what we could have done better. But, having a ball that enters half a metre into the goal and does not count, this is not possible in football."

Liverpool star Diogo Jota bagged both of Portugal's goals on the night, but his efforts were cancelled out by Aleksandar Mitrovic and Filip Kostic, leaving the two sides tied at the top of World Cup qualifying Group A.