Dimitri Payet protests his innocence but Cristiano Ronaldo’s mum is having none of it
WEST HAM playmaker Dimitri Payet and Cristiano Ronaldo's mum Dolores Aveiro are at war over the West Ham playmaker's tackle that put the Portuguese skipper out of the Euro 2016 final.
Payet made a heavy midfield challenge on the mercurial Real Madrid ace 16 minutes into the first half of Portugal's 1-0 extra time triumph over hosts France.
Portugal's talisman was forced to limp off, and despite his best efforts to continue, Ronaldo was finally stretchered off in more tears after 24 minutes
But Payet insisted: "No, it was a challenge, that's all, period. I regained the possession and if I hurt him it was not intentional.
"It's not in my nature to be a bad guy on the pitch. There is no question about it."
However, Dolores tweeted a photo of her son in tears along with message that seemed to be a fairly thinly veiled dig at Payet.
"I cannot see my son in this way," she said. "The game is about kicking the ball, not hurting the opponent."
Amazingly, Portugal went on to lift the trophy after Eder's strike in the second half of extra time broke the deadlock.
Payet was subbed off for Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman on the hour and said that a lack of cutting edge cost them their chance to lift a third European Championship trophy.
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"We're disappointed," he said. "We were under the impression we were the ones with the possession and the better chances but we missed that goal that could unblock the situation.
"On the very few chances they got, they were able to score.
"A goal decided all. A goal that we couldn't score ourselves. The Portuguese side were more efficient.
"I think that if we could have scored we could have forced them to play more offensively and we could have counter-attacked. At the end that goal is cruel.
"We didn't score for a lot of reasons. We were able to score two goals against Germany while they got the possession. It is kind of the same game but the other way around."
Payet impressed during the early stages of the tournament, scoring a superb late winner against Romania in the opening game, which led to him become a fan's favourite and being linked with a move to Real Madrid.
"I've been very well supported by the fans, it helped me a lot," he added. "We had to stop at the very end. That's football, that's how it works."