Ronaldo gets five-match ban for referee push

Published
2

Cristiano Ronaldo was hit with a five-match ban by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) on Monday for pushing the referee after being sent off in Real Madrid's 3-1 Spanish Super Cup, first leg win over Barcelona.

The World Player of the Year received an automatic one-match ban for his dismissal on Sunday and an extra four games for his reaction towards referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea.

Ronaldo was also fined $4,500 and has 10 days to appeal the ban.

Should any appeal fail, Ronaldo will miss Wednesday's Super Cup, the second leg and Madrid's first four La Liga games of the season against Deportivo la Coruna, Valencia, Levante and Real Sociedad.

However, Ronaldo will be free to feature when Madrid start their defence of the Champions League on September 12 or 13.

Madrid had already signaled their intent to appeal Ronaldo's second yellow card shown for diving eight minutes from time when he went down inside the area under pressure from Samuel Umtiti. “Ronaldo's sending-off annoys me because even if it is not a penalty, the card is harsh,” said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane after the game.

“We will see if we can do something so that he is available on Wednesday,” he added.

Ronaldo was only on the field for 24 minutes after he was introduced as a second-half substitute and fired into the top corner 10 minutes from time to give Madrid a 2-1 lead.

He received his first yellow card for removing his shirt in celebration before being shown the 10th red card of his career two minutes later.

“Once shown the red card, the said player (Ronaldo) pushed me lightly as a sign of his disapproval,” De Burgos Bengoetxea wrote in his referee's report.

According to the RFEF's rules, such offences are met with a suspension of anything between four and 12 games, but previous cases also resulted in four-game bans.

Despite Madrid's claims Ronaldo had reacted in the heat of the moment, the RFEF judged the push was an “unjustified and disproportionate reaction”.

Opinion

Editorial

State of confusion
Updated 05 Aug, 2026

State of confusion

FROM the looks of it, America has no exit strategy to extricate itself from the disastrous war with Iran. US...
Pension decision
05 Aug, 2026

Pension decision

THE government’s decision to formally operationalise the new Defined Contribution Pension Fund Scheme is a step...
Preventable deaths
05 Aug, 2026

Preventable deaths

THE deaths of 144 children from measles and diphtheria in Karachi during the first seven months of the year expose a...
Swat bombing
Updated 04 Aug, 2026

Swat bombing

IT is a bitter irony that terrorists struck a protest against violence in Swat on Sunday, causing at least 17...
Tariff blow
04 Aug, 2026

Tariff blow

FOR an export sector already squeezed by high production costs, the additional 10pc tariff on top of the existing...
Perilous peaks
04 Aug, 2026

Perilous peaks

THE deaths of 10 climbers in an avalanche on Broad Peak is a sad reminder of the perils that many mountaineers face...