Portugal took an early two-goal lead thanks to Liverpool forward Diogo Jota’s brace but Serbia pegged back the reigning European champions with two second half goals of their own to draw level.
Ronaldo seemed to have snatched all three points for Portugal deep into second half stoppage time when his effort crossed the line just before a defender hooked the ball away.
Instead, referee Danny Makkelie waved play on and Ronaldo was booked for taking his protests too far on a day when VAR was not in operation to intervene.
Both goal line technology and VAR have not been employed for the qualifiers.
“The referee apologised and I have great respect for him, but it is not permissible that, in a competition like this, there is no VAR or goal-line technology,” Santos was quoted as saying by A Bola.
“The ball was half a metre inside the goal, there was no obstacle between the goalkeeper and the goal line. It was very clear.
“He (Makkelie) apologised to me but this is not going to solve the problem.
“The referees make mistakes, they are human, but this is what VAR exists for.”
