The announcer employed by Porto at their Estadio do Dragao stadium might like to think twice the next time he posts on social media after landing himself in hot water over online comments he made about Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fernando Saul, who serves as a support liaison officer at the club in addition to his role behind the microphone, is no stranger to controversy. In 2017, he was suspended for 30 days after repeatedly yelling that he was "tired of being robbed" during his side's meeting with Benfica - and clearly didn't learn much from that experience.
After Porto dumped Juventus out of last season's Champions League at the round of 16 stage on the away goals rule, Saul took to Instagram to gloat - aiming some pretty vicious comments in the direction of Ronaldo and his family.
In a pair of stories posted on the platform, per Football Italia, Saul referred to Ronaldo as a "pig" and branded the Serie A club as "Italian thieves". Worst of all, he took a tasteless swipe at the Ronaldo's mother Dolores, calling her "a toothless crone".
One of his statements read: "‘Let’s take revenge on the pig Ronaldo for what he did to O Dragao [Porto]. What a proud breed, this is Porto. Now I’m waiting for the video of Dolores and the other toothless family members."
Although he soon apologised for his actions, Saul's behaviour had already been brought to the attention of The Portuguese Federation, the game's governing body in Portugal. After a recent disciplinary hearing into the matter, the announcer was slapped with a fine of €1,430 (approximately £1,220) which he must pay to the national team's captain.
In a twist, it appears that Saul's comments were actually reported to the authorities by Ronaldo's former club Sporting - who were appalled by the insults.
Although Ronaldo himself has made no comment on the incident, his sister Katia Aveiro had a pointed response in the immediate aftermath of the posts.
"You are the pig," she wrote to Saul - per The Metro. "Clean your mouth to talk about who you will neither reach in this life nor in 1000 more lives."
Some might view the fine levied against Saul as lenient, given how unnecessarily personal his words to Ronaldo and his family were. There is no place for these sorts of attacks in sport.
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