BARCELONA, Spain — Cristiano Ronaldo lost his cool, and now Real Madrid has lost its main man for five matches at the start of the Spanish season.
BARCELONA, Spain — 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 on 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 football 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. Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid opens the league on 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 long-range strike to put Madrid 2-1 up in the 80th minute, moments after Lionel Messi had equalized 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, referee 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.