Real Madrid forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, could be
suspended for up to 12 matches after referee
Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea included the Real
Madrid star’s shove in his match report.
Ronaldo was shown a second yellow card for
what Bengoetxea deemed to be a dive inside the
penalty area.
He had booked the Portugal captain moments
earlier, after he ripped off his shirt when he
made it 2-1 with a stunning drive.
After he was shown the red card, the 32-year-
old momentarily lost his cool and shoved the
referee.
Bengoetxea included the altercation in his post-
game match report, writing: “Player: Cristiano
Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro. Once the red card
was shown, the player pushed me slightly in a
sign of disagreement.”
The shove could trigger a ban of up to 12
matches under Article 96 of the Spanish
federation’s rule book, which deals with “Slight
violence towards referees”.
Article 96 applies to players who “grab, push or
shake” a referee in a manner that is “slightly
violent”, and recommends a suspension of 4-12
matches for the action.
Ronaldo’s fate is now in the hands of the
Spanish federation’s competition committee,
who will decide how many games he would be
banned for, in addition to the one-game ban
from his red card.