CAIRO: Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off with a straight red card in the semi-final of the Saudi Super Cup and caused outrage with his reaction to the decision, reported German news agency (dpa).

As his side Al-Nassr was losing 2-0 to Al-Hilal on Monday evening, Ronaldo got into a scuffle with an opponent and pushed him to the ground, for which he was shown a red card in the 86th minute.

Video of the episode shows Ronaldo then clenching his fist, raising it above his head and taking half a step towards the referee after the referee had already averted his eyes. Ronaldo then applauded derisively and gave several thumbs-up.

Al-Nassr eventually equalised in stoppage time through former Bayern player Sadio Mané, but still lost to rivals Al-Hilal and missed out on a place in the final of the Saudi Super Cup.-Bernama