Belgium manager criticises Jorge Jesus: 'If you make a promise, you have to keep it'

Belgium's new head coach, Mark van Bommel, was asked in a press conference about the controversy involving Cristiano Ronaldo and Jorge Jesus—specifically whether he had ever made such a promise to a player—and sided with the 41-year-old forward regarding the Portugal manager's unfulfilled pledge.

"If you make a promise, you have to keep it, but I have never promised a player that he would play, because you never know what is going to happen. You always have to leave that possibility open. You can tell him there is a strong chance, but you keep the door open to not playing," he began.

"I don't know if that's smart. Jorge Jesus probably had his reasons for it. In a friendly, it's easier to promise someone 45 or 60 minutes so they can take that into account during the warm-up. But making promises... I've never done that," he stated.

In his first games in charge of Belgium, Van Bommel won away against Italy before suffering a home defeat against France. His side now prepare to host Turkey on matchday three of the Nations League.