Allow me to quote former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand straight from the off here but Juventus surely need to file an appeal over Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card against Valencia.
Bianconeri superstar striker ended up having a torrid night in his favourite competition as he got sent off just before the half hour-mark after what appeared as if he slightly pulled Valencia centre-back Jeison Murillo’s hair.
Cristiano Ronaldo left the pitch in tears after being shown the red card and I’m on the bandwagon with Rio Ferdinand, believing that decision to send him off was a harsh one.
Surely got to appeal this… @Cristiano?? #Juve #UCL pic.twitter.com/aL76vq2xTj
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) September 19, 2018
Never before the Wednesday night’s clash against Valencia has Cristiano Ronaldo been shown a red card in the Champions League and his disappointment and despair do not come as a surprise. The Portuguese will be automatically given a one-game ban for which Juventus have no right to appeal but UEFA could extend his suspension to three matches.
Unlike the Premier League where an automatic three-match ban for violent conduct is imposed, UEFA’s suspensions are determined on a case-by-case basis. This means Cristiano Ronaldo could potentially miss out on the trip to his former home Old Trafford on 23rd October.
Furthermore, should he be handed a three-game suspension, he would also be unavailable for Juventus’ home clash against the Red Devils on 7th November.
According to Rio Ferdinand, the fact he could miss the United games is one of the reasons he left the pitch weeping.
“I think the emotion you can see coming out here, I think he’s going back to Old Trafford – he’ll miss that game – he wants to play football, you can see that. I don’t know. I think the red card is inconclusive really, it’s hard to see.”, Cristiano Ronaldo’s former teammate said.
Building up the case to support Cristiano Ronaldo in this particular moment, Valencia manager Marcelino’s words could be of help to Juventus in their expected efforts to appeal the decision and possibly overturn the suspension.
Valencia boss admitted he did not see the incident and told Ronaldo insisted he did not do anything wrong.
“He was very upset, even crying, because he said he didn’t do anything wrong.”, Marcelino said.
Last night’s red card was Cristiano Ronaldo’s 11th dismissal in total. The first red card of his career came in 2004 in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa. He got one two years later in a local derby match against Manchester City, whereas he was again sent off in 2007 against Portsmouth. Another dismissal from the Manchester Derby, in 2008, completes the list of red cards he got during his time at Manchester United.
The remaining six red cards Ronaldo was shown prior to last night all came during his Real Madrid spell, last of which was the sending off from a 3-1 win in El Clasico in 2017.
Should Cristiano Ronaldo end up missing three Champions League matches due to suspension, there is no doubt his absence would be a huge blow for Juventus. Bianconeri should have no problems going through to the elimination stage of the competition but will be keen to do it from the leading spot in Group H which would give them an upper hand in the next phase.
The Italian champions are currently the second favourites to win the Champions League with 6/1 betting odds to their name – same as Barcelona – and only a dash behind Manchester City (5/1).
Could they possibly lift the trophy and emerge as champions of Europe’s elite club competition this season?
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