Real Madrid have 10 days to appeal Cristiano Ronaldo’s five-game suspension

Real Madrid have 10 days in which to appeal after Cristiano Ronaldo was hit with a five-game suspension for pushing the referee following his dismissal during Sunday’s Supercopa de Espana meeting with Barcelona.

Forward Ronaldo, having already been cautioned for taking his shirt off after scoring in the 3-1 first-leg win at the Nou Camp, was shown a second yellow card in the 82nd minute for diving after going down under pressure from Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti.

The Portuguese responded to his dismissal by shoving referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea in the back before making his way off the pitch.

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) has now handed the 32-year-old a five-match ban – one for the double booking and another four for pushing the official.

Ronaldo was found guilty of ‘Violation of article 96 of the Disciplinary Code’, which relates to using “mild force” against the officials, including grabbing, pushing or shaking.

The offence carries a ban of up to 12 matches, with Ronaldo being handed the minimum punishment of four games.

Ronaldo has also been fined 3,805 euros (£3,459) for the two sanctions, with Real fined 1,750 euros (£1,590).

Real and Ronaldo have 10 business days to appeal against the ruling, the RFEF added.

Ronaldo will now miss the second leg of the Supercopa against Barca at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night, as well as Real’s opening four LaLiga matches.

The reigning Spanish and European champions begin their title defence at Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday, before then taking on Valencia, Levante and Real Sociedad.

Former Manchester United forward Ronaldo – linked with a move away from Real this summer after revealing his frustration over an investigation into his tax returns in Spain – started the Supercopa fixture on the bench but was heavily involved following his introduction around the hour mark.

He restored Real’s lead with a brilliant 20-yard shot into the far top corner in the 80th minute – three minutes after Lionel Messi had levelled from the penalty spot to cancel out Gerard Pique’s own goal – and was promptly booked for celebrating by taking off his shirt.

Soon after he went to ground under a challenge by Umtiti as the pair raced into the Barcelona box. Ronaldo appealed for a penalty but instead was shown a second yellow card for diving.

An incredulous Ronaldo then pushed De Burgos Bengoetxea in the back with his right hand as the referee walked away, an incident the official described in his report as “Once the red card was shown, said player pushed me slightly in a sign of disagreement”.

Following Ronaldo’s dismissal, Real added a third goal late on through Marco Asensio to seal a 3-1 first-leg win over the Copa del Rey winners in the Spanish season’s traditional curtain-raiser.