Captain's armband thrown to floor by Cristiano Ronaldo during Portugal game raises €64,000 in charity auction

Serbian fireman uses souvenir he picked up from pitchside to raise funds required to treat a six-month-old baby who suffers from rare disease

Cristiano Ronaldo throws his captain's armband to the ground after being denied a winner against Serbia on March 27. Getty

Cristiano Ronaldo cannot believe the decision to rule out his late strike at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade. Getty

Ronaldo shows his frustration after the World Cup qualifying draw in Serbia. EPA

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo argues with assistant referee. EPA

Cristiano Ronaldo can't hide his frustration. EPA

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo was furious with the decision to deny him a goal. EPA

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo in action. Reuters

Portugal's Diogo Jota celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal. AP

Portugal's Diogo Jota scores their second goal. Reuters

Serbia's Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates scoring their first goal. Reuters

Serbia's Filip Kostic celebrates scoring their equaliser. Reuters

The captain's armband that Cristiano Ronaldo flung to the ground in disgust after Portugal were denied an injury-time winner against Serbia was sold at a charity auction for €64,000 ($75,000) to an anonymous bidder.

With seconds to go, while the score in the 2022 World Cup qualifier was 2-2 in Belgrade, Ronaldo thought he had netted the crucial goal, when the ball appeared to cross the goalline before Stefan Mitrovic cleared. But without video technology in use, the goal was not awarded.

A fuming Ronaldo received a yellow card for his protests and at the final whistle, as he stormed from the pitch, he threw his captain's armband to the ground.

Djordje Vukicevic, a local firemen who was deployed at the stadium, picked it up and immediately contacted a regional sports channel with the idea of auctioning it for charity.

Vukicevic told AFP on Tuesday that he suggested raising funds required to treat a six-month-old baby, Gavrilo Djurdjevic, who suffers from a rare disease.

The infant is battling spinal muscular atrophy, a disease which affects about one in 10,000 births, and results in death or the need for permanent ventilation by the age of two in 90 per cent of cases.

After the sports channel Sportklub verified the item's authenticity by checking post-match photos and videos, they teamed up with a charity organisation and put Ronaldo's armband up for a bidding contest on auctioning website Limundo.com.

The €64,000 gathered at the auction represents only a fraction of the amount needed for the baby's treatment, as his hopes are pinned on the "world's most expensive drug" – the treatment costs around €2m.