Ronaldo's red card an act of comedy, but finally Ireland are not the butt of the joke

David Sneyd reports from the Aviva Stadium

CRISTIANO RONALDO swung an elbow and then threw a wobbler.

The Aviva Stadium roared and, just like every other part of Ireland gripped by the drama unfolding, those inside Lansdowne Road rose to their feet to mock and jeer and slag the 40-year-old.

This was petulance in its purest form, performed by a master of his craft.

Twenty years after Eamon Dunphy labelled him a cod, one of the greats of the game showed he’s still an amadán at heart.

If Ronaldo’s elbow on Dara O’Shea wasn’t enough, the antics that followed instantly turned him into meme material.

Firstly, before he realised that there was a VAR check under way and hadn’t gotten away with his indiscretion, he taunted Caoimhin Kelleher by rubbing his eyes and pretending to cry.

He looked at O’Shea with disdain as he got to his feet and seemed to hurry referee Glenn Nyberg along to restart a game his team were already losing 2-0 thanks to two goals from Troy Parrott on a night that showed he truly his beginning to mature into the kind of striker his potential made so many believe in.

The Swedish official was sent to the monitor and quickly saw what we all had, Ronaldo swung an elbow at the Ireland centre back in a moment of sheer frustration.

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Ireland’s dogged, clinical performance allied with a mixture of Portugal’s arrogance and naivety had brought him to the boil.

When the red card was flashed in Ronaldo’s direction this corner of Dublin erupted with a mixture of glee and hilarity.

Ronaldo wasn’t done, though. He never is. He stood motionless in the middle of the pitch – not too dissimilar to his performance, to be fair – and began to sarcastically applaud the crowd.

Then he made his way towards Heimir Hallgrímsson, marching with a purpose and swagger that he usually saves for those free kicks that crash into a wall or fly over the crossbar.

He wagged his finger at the Ireland manager and made that world-renowned hand gesture about talking too much. Perhaps he was pinning the blame for the whole scenario on Hallgrímsson, as he had spoken before the game about the officials needing to be strong and not allowing Ronaldo dictate terms of engagement.

“Obviously it’s up to the referee if he takes part in a play,” Hallgrímsson said.

This was a comedy, and finally Ireland were not the butt of the joke.

John O’Shea, Ronaldo’s former Manchester United teammate, appeared to try and be peacemaker and there did seem to be a handshake between Hallgrímsson before he eventually departed down the tunnel.

The whole episode will just add to the lore of this triumphant, thrilling night.

Ronaldo now has 13 red cards in his storied, celebrated career and this is the first for his country.

Those who came to watch him in the flesh can now tick one of the bucket list and say ‘I was there’. They will probably never see him here again but, frankly, who cares if Parrott can continue to deliver moments like this.

Portugal have not yet qualified for the World Cup and Ireland’s hopes of a play-off have been revived in stunning fashion ahead of what is now simply a must-win clash against Hungary on Sunday.

The belief that will now be coursing through the players’ veins in Budapest might just be as powerful as the electricity which their performance stirred in most of the 50,717 people that would have floated out of Aviva Stadium in a state of complete thrall and wondering: is this what belief feels like?

A case in point.

The Ireland fan beside the press box in his baby blue jumper and beige chinos jumped to his feet and tilted his head to the rafters.

As he did so, he bent his knees slightly to get just that bit more purchase as he stretched out his arms and shook both fists with a kind of violent beauty.

Josh Cullen’s delivery for the corner that led to the first goal was much the same.

This lad in baby blue was no harm to anyone except, perhaps, his own blood pressure.

His cheeks had already reddened to the point of boiling, and as the emotion burst from within, it was even as though his scraggly, ginger beard was vibrating.

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But this was not one of Parrott’s goals or even Ronaldo’s red card.

He was celebrating a Finn Azaz tackle on Joao Cancelo in a 50-50 duel around the middle of the pitch.

Ireland were already 1-0 up by that point, and it was the start of Ronaldo being overshadowed by the No.7 in green.

Instead of a kick up the backside by Portugal, the Ireland players headed to Hungary with roars of approval and encouragement from their fans.

“Magic, magic, magic, that was magic,” said one, beaming as he danced down the stairs.

More than magic, this result brings belief at the most critical juncture of this World Cup campaign.

All roads now lead to Budapest where it’s win or bust.