Scotland star Ryan Porteous breaks silence on Euro 2024 red card against Germany

RYAN PORTEOUS has described his Scotland red card in Germany as the hardest moment of his career.

The Watford defender was sent off in the Euro 2024 opener against the hosts for a lunge on Ilkay Gundogan.

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The crude challenge led to a penalty which the Germans converted on their way to a thumping 5-1 victory.

And after reviewing the incident Uefa extended the 25-year-old’s ban, ruling him out of his side’s two other group games.

Porteous came in for severe criticism afterwards with a number of ex pros including Chris Sutton slamming the challenge.

And the player admitted it only really hit him once the disappointing campaign was over.

He said: “It was obviously really tough, probably the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to go through personally. 

“When we were away at the Euros, you couldn’t really think of yourself that much because you still got a pretty big job to do for the team.

“You can’t be sulking, you can’t be feeling sorry for yourself, you’ve got to help the boys.

“I thought I tried to do that to the best I could, but obviously when you leave the camp it’s a bit of a hit. 

“But I’ve got a lot of good people around me, and they looked after me as well. 

“I feel like I’m in a lot better place now, but as I said it was really tough.”

Looking back at the challenge, he added: “I have a lot of disappointment. It’s one of those things where it’s hard to excuse anything, but at the same time it’s just gutting. 

“It’s gutting for myself, for everybody that was there, supporting me and for the fans as well. 

“It was an experience, but another experience that I’ll never forget.”

Porteous returned to Scotland with Watford on Wednesday as part of the deal that took him there from Hibs in January 2023.

And he admitted being back at the Championship club had helped him refocus after a difficult period.

He said: “I wanted to come right back to Watford straight away and get back to work.

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“You’re not going to feel better by someone telling you off, you’re going to feel better by reacting. I think I’ve shown that.

“I’ve done that a lot before, so I’m backing myself up again.

“I’ve trained myself quite well to deal with that a long time ago. I’ve trained myself to not look at that and that’s probably been the biggest asset to me. 

“The advice I would give to any younger players coming through, is don’t look at your phone, look at social media, things like that. It’s probably beneficial.”

Boss Steve Clarke defended Porteous in the aftermath of the Germany game, something the player appreciated.

He said: “You want the manager to back you. He’s the kind of gaffer who is never going to chuck you under the bus.

“It was obviously a positive, but it’s more about dealing with myself and looking at it from a personal point of view rather than having anybody stick up for you if you like.” 

Clarke came under fire after the disappointing end to Scotland’s Group A campaign.

And Porteous admits the side now have to respond when the Nations League gets underway later this year.

He told Sky: “We set a really high standard over the course of the last three or four years and we’ve got to live up to that. 

“We can’t be a squad that just settles for getting to major tournaments, although it’s fantastic for the nation, showing how much it meant to everyone being there. 

“It’s so disappointing not to reach that next level. But as a group we have got to bounce back and go again.”

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