GettyIt wasn’t the dream European debut he dreamed of.
In fact, it turned into a nightmare for Cristiano Ronaldo, as he received a red card 37 minutes into his first game in Europe as a Juventus player.
In what looked like an innocuous incident, the Portuguese forward tangled with his countryman Ruben Vezo as he tried to escape the Valencia man in the opening game of the Champions League. The pair tumbled, and Ronaldo shouted something at his international team mate, before touching his head.
The referee consulted with his colleagues, before brandishing the red card.
Check it out here:
"You can't do that!"
"I think he's got room to appeal.."
🤔
A much clearer angle of Cristiano Ronaldo's red card, and it's still dividing opinion… pic.twitter.com/U034bcKuq0
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 19, 2018
As it stands, Ronaldo’s red card will be classed as “violent conduct”, which carries a three match ban in the Champions League. That means he’ll miss BOTH games against Manchester United, in what would have been an emotional homecoming.
We won’t have heard the last of this though, as Ronaldo can still appeal the decision to UEFA. Whether or not the powers that be will overturn the ruling is another matter, as governing bodies tend to stick with their officials decisions more often than not.
What did you make of the incident?
