Ronaldo’s push results in 5-game suspension
Cristiano Ronaldo lost his cool, and now Real Madrid has lost its main man for five matches at the start of the Spanish season.
Ronaldo was banned for five games Monday after shoving a referee who sent him off for diving in Madrid’s 3-1 win over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup.
Ronaldo was suspended for one game for the red card in Sunday’s Super Cup first leg at Barcelona, and four games for pushing referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea in the back, the Spanish soccer federation said.
Ronaldo will miss Wednesday’s return leg of the Super Cup in Madrid plus the first four matches of Real Madrid’s league title defense. The team opens La Liga play Sunday at Deportivo La Coruna. Its next three matches after that are against Valencia, promoted Levante and at Real Sociedad.
Ronaldo and Madrid have 10 days to appeal the federation’s ruling.
Still regaining peak fitness after an extended summer vacation, Ronaldo began the Super Cup match on the bench and came on in the 58th minute.
He scored with a longrange strike to put Madrid up 2-1 in the 80th minute, moments after Lionel Messi had tied it for Barcelona from the penalty spot.
But Ronaldo’s goal celebration — when he took his shirt off and flexed his muscles — earned him a yellow card.
Two minutes later, he charged into the area and collided with Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti. Ronaldo went down hoping for a penalty. Instead, de Burgos showed him a second yellow for diving and sent him off.
Ronaldo raised his arms in disbelief, then stepped up to de Burgos and shoved him in the back with his right hand.
The federation ruling said that Ronaldo’s shove violated Article 96 of its disciplinary code, which states that “light aggressions” defined as “pulling, pushing and shaking” of a referee are punished by suspensions of from four to 12 matches.
The federation also fined Ronaldo $3,500 and Madrid $1,650 for the shove, and an additional $705 for the player and $412 for the club for simulating a foul.
Last season, Las Palmas forward Marko Livaja was given a four-match suspension for pushing a referee after he was shown a red card.
After guiding Madrid to the Champions League and Spanish league titles last season, the suspension comes during a difficult summer for Ronaldo.
In June, a state prosecutor accused Ronaldo of defrauding Spain’s tax office of $16.5 million. The 32-year-old star had to deny the accusations in person to an investigative judge last month.
Now he must trust his teammates to make a good start to Madrid’s defense without him. Given Marco Asensio’s great goal from distance to cap Sunday’s win over Barcelona, the 21-yearold forward could take Ronaldo’s place in the starting lineup.
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