Spanish Super Cup: Real Madrid To Appeal Ronaldo’s Red Card

Real Madrid coach, Zinedine Zidane has confirmed that the club will appeal the red card handed to Cristiano Ronaldo in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona at Camp Nou on Sunday.

The 32-year-old was given a hostile reception by Barca fans as he warmed up before replacing Karim Benzema in the second half to score a beautiful goal from a great shot.

He was also yellow-carded for taking off his shirt in celebration and would soon go into referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea’s books again for ‘simulation’ although television replays showed the Portuguese star lost his footing under the challenge of Samuel Umtiti.

“We played a great game but I am annoyed by Cristiano’s sending off,” the Mirror quotes Zidane as saying.

“Perhaps it wasn’t a penalty but the red card is a little harsh. We can’t change it, but we’ll try and make sure he plays on Wednesday,” the former Real Madrid ‘galatico’ revealed.

“We fought with 10 players, we believed until the end but it’s only one game, we have the second leg up next,” added Zidane

Madrid captain, Sergio Ramos also leapt to Ronaldo’s defence. “I was far away, but I think it was a piece of play in which (Ronaldo) lost his balance, rather than feigning anything,” he told Spanish media outlet Marca.

“It could be appealed. Sending off a key player with 10 minutes remaining of a Clasico in which we’ve given our all is something which needs to be evaluated and thought about. In no moment was it a penalty.

“I will need to watch it and evaluate it because I don’t think the referee would blow for an action in which there was nothing there, knowing that he could be mistaken.

“My feeling was that it wasn’t (a penalty),” the Los Blancos defender added.

Meanwhile, Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said his side had not deserved to lose 3-1.

“I don’t have the sensation we were as far away from them as the scoreline suggests,” he said. “They scored three times, but we played well and had our chances.

“They caught us on the counterattack when it was 1-1 and scored a great goal, and then another one. But it’s not just about getting into the danger zone, it’s about putting your chances away.”