Cristiano Ronaldo’s 'haircut goal' forced sportsbooks to correct their payouts and bettors were furious
"The hair of God" no-goal.
In his prolific, all-time career, Portugal talisman striker Cristiano Ronaldo has usually made it a point to eventually score for his home nation. In 193 international appearances for Portugal, Ronaldo has netted 118 goals — the most of any Men’s player ever. He’s usually as sure of a bet to not only find a way to get a goal but also pepper a goalie with several shots.
That was not the case during Portugal’s 2-0 win over Uruguay in Group H on Monday.
Not only did Ronaldo not get a shot on target during the matchup, he also just barely missed a golden opportunity to score (which would’ve poached a goal from his own teammate Bruno Fernandes).
Ronaldo was originally credited for the goal, should it belong to Bruno Fernandes?
pic.twitter.com/RuMuMAEA0T
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 28, 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrating Bruno Fernandes’ goal
pic.twitter.com/cUy3cip0MR
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 28, 2022
Look closely, and yes, Ronaldo indeed did not make any contact with the ball. After being initially credited with the score, it was appropriately awarded to Fernandes.
Ronaldo was this close
pic.twitter.com/t8o7RSGtqj
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 28, 2022
Of course, Ronaldo’s miss/subsequent rescore didn’t end up hurting Portugal, given the eventual win. Plus, he still has the all-time international scoring mark.
It was, however, a disastrous result for bettors. Some sportsbooks naturally had to correct payouts after it was revealed Ronaldo didn’t actually score.
Hello! Please note that the Cristiano Ronaldo Anytime Goalscorer market has been correctly graded. Please refer to Part B Section 7.2 of our House Rules for more information on Resettlements: https://t.co/wp372AGNYY
— FD Customer Support (@FanDuel_Support) November 28, 2022
Others were a little more forgiving of the unfortunate circumstance:
RONALDO PAYOUT
For those robbed by the “Haircut Goal”…
We are paying out anybody who bet on Ronaldo first goalscorer AND anytime goalscorer prior to the goal being scored! pic.twitter.com/4S7GwQn19b
— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) November 28, 2022
In all fairness, could you blame anyone for expecting a guy who essentially scores at least one goal every two international games to score a goal in an international game? If not for a slight miss on precision, Ronaldo would’ve had another one here, and sportsbooks wouldn’t be issuing corrections on payouts to bettors.