Cristiano Ronaldo axed from Portugal national squad

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo's name was given amiss when Portugal coach Fernando Santos released the roster of the national squad for the upcoming fixtures against Poland and Scotland. The former Manchester United forward will not be featuring in either of the matches. The announcement will undoubtedly boost the morale of both Poland and Scotland when the two teams lock horns with Portugal.

According to the website marca.com, the decision to exclude Ronaldo was taken after holding consultations with Santos and the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Fernando Gomes.

The news of him being dropped from squad happens to coincide with the timing of a rape allegation having been made against former Real Madrid forward.

Earlier Ronaldo, denied the charges leveled against him via Twitter, writing: "I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in. Keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense."

"My clear conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations," the Portuguese added in a separate tweet.

His remarks come in the wake of the reopening of a 2009 investigation by the Las Vegas Police over accusations made by Mayorga, who alleged that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner had sexually assaulted her in the Palms Hotel on June 13, 2009, Goal reported citing German publication Der Spiegel.

The former Manchester United star had earlier rebuffed Mayorga's allegations in an Instagram live video, calling it "fake news.

-ANI