Mourinho banned, players fined over red cards

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was on Tuesday banned for one game with one game suspended by UEFA after two of his players received suspicious red cards in a Champions League game with Ajax.

“The Spanish club’s coach Jose Mourinho has been suspended from coaching activities for two UEFA club competition matches, of which the second is deferred for a probationary period of three years. He was also fined 40,000 euros,” read a statement on the UEFA website.

UEFA specified that the punishments were for “improper conduct”.

Midfielder Xabi Alonso and right-back Sergio Ramos were both sent off at the end of Real’s 4-0 win in Amsterdam last week after receiving their second yellow cards for blatant acts of time-wasting.

The dismissals mean they are banned for Real’s final ‘dead rubber’ Group G match with Marseille and Spanish press speculated that they had deliberately got sent off to give themselves a disciplinary clean slate in the last 16.

Alonso and Ramos were both fined by UEFA, while goalkeeper Iker Casillas and reserve keeper Jerzy Dudek were also fined after being captured on television apparently passing messages to them from the dugout.

Spanish international team-mates Alonso and Ramos were fined 20,000 euros each, with a 10,000 fine handed to Casillas and Dudek ordered to pay 5,000 euros.

“The red cards given to Alonso and Ramos stand, and they have therefore been suspended for one UEFA club competition match,” added UEFA.

Real, nine-time European champions, were also fined 120,000 euros over the incident. The club has three days to launch an appeal.