Cristiano Ronaldo faces an anxious wait to discover how long he will be suspended following his dismissal from Sunday evening’s 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao.
The Real Madrid star was given his marching orders by referee Miguel Angel Ayza after an off-the-ball clash with Carlos Gurpegi, appearing to pull the home defender’s hair in a dispute over a non-awarded free-kick, which would usually spark a one-match ban.
However, Ronaldo will discover later this week whether that will be extended after he risked further punishment by making repeated gestures to the fourth official as he made his way down the tunnel – an action that was noted by the referee in his post-match report – and could see him banned for extra matches.
The Portuguese star will be available for tomorrow’s Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid at the Bernabeu, as suspensions in Spain are served only in the same competition as the offence, but he will definintely miss Saturday’s La Liga clash with Villarreal.
Predictably, Ronaldo’s team-mates were quick to rally behind their talisman, with midfielder Xabi Alonso leading the chorus of complaints as he said: “Of course there was no aggression [from Ronaldo]. The red card was exaggerated and Gurpegi helped a lot.”
Alonso could have easily been sent off himself after launching into a number of heavy challenges during the course of the game, but he was in no mood to show any gratitude to referee Ayza as he continued: “The referee was also influenced by the fans during the whole game. We were harmed by that.”
Manager Carlo Ancelotti was also unhappy with the decision to dismiss Ronaldo, although his complaints were more measured as he said: “It’s tough for me to say because I was not close to the action, but the pictures show that it was a bit exaggerated.”
Ancelotti admitted to mixed emotions after seeing his team forced to settle for a point despite taking the lead through youngster Jese Rodriguez, but also somewhat relieved to survive a fraught final few minutes following Ibai’s wonderfully-struck equaliser for Athletic and Ronaldo’s red card.
“After Jese’s goal we had control of the match and did not suffer,” he said. “The team was well-balanced, but then Ibai’s goal was a fantastic strike. Towards the end it was difficult to try to win with 10 players.”
