Sergio Ramos Banned Over
By Joshua Walters
UEFA has slapped Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos with a game suspension in the Champions League for 'receiving a yellow card on purpose'.
The UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) revealed on Friday they have imposed a game ban on the player for deliberately attracting a yellow card to himself.
Ramos was shown the yellow card in the 89th minute as he fouled Kasper Dolberg in Real Madrid's 2-1 win at Ajax in the first leg game of the knockout round.
The card added to an already accumulated four cautions for the player which, by extension, meant he was out of the return game against the Netherlands side at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“The CEDB has decided to suspend the Real Madrid CF player Sergio Ramos for two UEFA competition matches for which he would be otherwise eligible for clearly receiving a yellow card on purpose,” read a UEFA statement.
“The two-match suspension includes the automatic one-match suspension for the repeated cautions.”
The card added to an already accumulated four cautions for the player which, by extension, meant he was out of the return game against the Netherlands side at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ramos insinuated after the game that he intentionally forced the booking when he was asked about the genuineness of the foul in a post-match interview.
“Looking at the result I would be lying if I said it wasn’t intentional,” Ramos was quoted to have said after the match.
"It’s something I was thinking about, it’s not to underestimate the opponent nor say the tie is over but in football, you have to take difficult decisions so I decided to do it.”
“In a game, there is always a lot of tension and you have to take decisions in seconds. The best thing about tonight was the result, the worst that I will not be in the second leg due to one moment in the game,” he posted.
Ramos, however, backtracked when he realised that his honesty could land him into trouble with the organisers of the game.
"I want to make it clear that this hurts me more than it would hurt anyone, I did not get the yellow card on purpose, just like the last yellow card I got in the competition, and I will be supporting from the stands like any other fan hoping we get into the quarter-finals," he said later on.
Ramos would have missed Ajax's visit to Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg tie of the knockout round but be available for selection should his side qualify for the quarter-final.
But UEFA's decision means that Ramos would miss both the second leg game against Ajax and the first leg tie of the quarterfinal round, should Real Madrid make it that far.
