Ronaldo risks lengthy ban after Referee assault in el-Clasico victory

Cristiano Ronaldo is in the news for the wrong reasons
following his shove on referee in Real Madrid’s 1-3 el-Clasico victory on
Sunday.

The reigning World Footballer of The Year star is facing a
lengthy ban after taking his frustration out on the referee.

Cristiano Ronaldo could be suspended for as many as 12
matches after referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea included the Real Madrid
star’s shove in his match report.

After scoring and removing his shirt to earn a yellow card
in the Spanish Super Cup first leg against Barcelona, Ronaldo was shown a
second yellow card for an alleged dive in the box just minutes later, prompting
him to momentarily lose his cool and shove the referee, Goal stated.

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 the
32-year-old would be forced to sit out in addition to the one-game ban stemming
from his red card.

If Ronaldo gets a total ban of five or more games, it would
apply in all Spanish competitions, including La Liga. A suspension of four or
less matches would only apply to the Super Cup.