Zidane upset over Ronaldo’s five-match ban as Real Madrid consider next move
Ronaldo reacted to his red card against Barcelona by pushing referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea.
Real Madrid will wait until the Spanish Football Federation’s disciplinary committee meeting on Wednesday before deciding their next move over Cristiano Ronaldo’s five-match ban.
The Portuguese was handed the suspension by the RFEF after pushing referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, who had just sent him off during Real’s 3-1 win over Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final first leg at the Nou Camp on Sunday.
Ronaldo had scored Real’s second goal but was shown a first yellow card for removing his shirt during the celebrations and picked up a second caution for diving after going down in the Barca area under pressure from defender Samuel Umtiti.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s second leg, Real manager Zinedine Zidane said of Ronaldo’s punishment: “I hope that when they meet, they look at it thoroughly.
“I’m upset that he’s been suspended for five games after what happened. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m telling you how I feel after watching the match again. How is it not going to bother me?
“I don’t interfere with the work of the referee, we can all make mistakes, but it’s annoying that he’s got five games after what happened.”
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Zidane was quoted on Real’s website as saying he hoped Ronaldo was not being judged unduly by the game’s authorities.
He said: “Everyone can have their opinion but Cristiano Ronaldo is upset because he wants to play and when he doesn’t play he’s not happy; I hope they’ve not got something against Cristiano Ronaldo and people do their job with integrity.
“We’re upset that we are not going to have him with us for a long time. We’ll wait to see what happens tomorrow. The disciplinary committee is going to meet tomorrow and after that we’ll see what we’re going to do.”
The RFEF handed the 32-year-old a five-game ban – one for the red card and another four for pushing the official before making his way off the pitch – on Monday, leaving Real with 10 working days to appeal the sanction.
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. He has also been fined 3,805 euros (£3,459) for the two sanctions, with Real fined 1,750 euros (£1,590).
Ronaldo will miss the second leg of the Supercopa at the Bernabeu, as well as the Spanish and European champions’ opening four LaLiga matches against Deportivo La Coruna, Valencia, Levante and Real Sociedad.
