Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus, South Korea, Football
Ryan Smart
Cristiano Ronaldo's no-show for a friendly match between Juventus and the K-League All Stars in 2019 led to two fans being paid compensation.
Ronaldo, then in his second season with the Italian giants, was rested by manager Maurizio Sarri for the friendly in Seoul.
The Portugal icon had played in a friendly in nearby Nanjing 48 hours earlier, and was advised by Juve's medical staff not to play due to muscle fatigue.
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However, this infuriated the 65,000 fans present at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, with some supporters booing Ronaldo and even chanting for rival Lionel Messi when it became clear that he would be playing no part in the friendly.
The forward was contracted to play for at least 45 minutes, but spent the entirety of the match on the bench.
"In a statement, the K-League said: "We strongly urge Juventus to offer a sincere apology and explain the reason for Ronaldo's no-show.
"The key point ... is that Ronaldo did not play even for a minute, contrary to the contract guarantee that he would play for at least 45 minutes."
Angry fans left the Olympic Stadium early, while others stayed behind to voice their satisfaction at not seeing Ronaldo play.
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Some fans even sued the match organisers, The Fasta Inc, as they had publicised that the forward would play at least 45 minutes in the match.
A district court in Incheon ordered the company to pay 371,000 won ($312) to two fans listed in the lawsuit.
That sum included a refund of half the ticket price - which ranged from £20 to £270 - as well as an additional £34.
In addition, as per The Sun, the court ordered The Fasta to refund 162 fans half the ticket price, which ranged from £20 to £270 to each plaintiff - as well as an additional £34.
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Ronaldo and Juventus were not punished.
In a statement, the court said: "The defendant has contractual obligations of Ronaldo playing in the game barring any unforeseen circumstances."
There were clearly still hard feelings over three years on from the incident, with a reporter claiming that South Korean players had been asked to 'get revenge' on Ronaldo and Portugal when the nations played each other at the 2022 World Cup.
The subsequent encounter wasn't an enjoyable one for the football icon, who was substituted on 65 minutes without scoring as Portugal went on to lose 2-1.